Despite protests from residents, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) demolished three illegal buildings, both under construction and completed, at Vesawe (Versova) in Andheri West on Monday. The civic body had already issued a stop-work notice and demolition orders.
A large number of women from Vesawe village in Andheri West, under the K-West ward of BMC, resisted the demolition drive, making it challenging for the police to manage the crowd. Eventually, Vishwas Shankarwar, DMC of Zone 4, and the assistant commissioner of K-West ward intervened, allowing the demolition to resume.
According to the BMC, the demolished buildings were not occupied. "A total of three under-construction buildings and one completed building were demolished," said Prithviraj Chauhan, Assistant Commissioner of K-West ward.
Local fishermen had written to the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB) regarding the problems they faced due to silt accumulation in the Vesawe area, which hindered their boat operations. The MMB communicated this to the BMC. Upon inspection, K-West ward officers discovered unauthorized constructions and issued notices.
"The land on which the eviction took place belongs to the State Government. These unauthorized constructions were built in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) area," said Chauhan. He added that the BMC initiated the action independently.
"A 'stop-work' notice was issued to these illegal constructions, followed by eviction notices," Chauhan explained.