Even as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is struggling to accommodate authorised hawkers and vendors, the space in some of the BMC markets have been blocked as storage and election offices in different constituencies. The Election Commission has occupied 9 civic markets across the city since 2009, 2014 and 2019 elections.
The Collector’s office requisites spaces and manpower on behalf of the Election Commission of India ahead of polls. However, these spaces are not vacated for years even after elections are over.
The civic body has been struggling to get authorised hawkers accommodated due to no availability of space.
Hawker’s associations claim the Election Commission is not different from an encroacher. “The space they have occupied can be allotted to one of us who have a licence but have been displaced due to various development projects. However, we are suffering and the Election Commission is enjoying a space in the BMC market for free in a city like Mumbai.”
Under the BMC’s market department, there are a total of 92 municipal retail markets and 95 built-up markets with accommodation reservations. Besides these, there are 16 private markets altogether having close to 17,500 licensed pitches/spaces.
The Free Press Journal had reported on February 19 that BMC classrooms were occupied by the Election Commission or the State Election Commission as a storage ahead of elections for years. BMC had failed to get the premises back from them. BMC schools are facing issues of shortage of laboratories and halls for academic and non-academic activities. Over 35 classrooms and 15 halls in around 12 civic-run schools have been occupied by EC for years now.
“We have written to various election officers of the respective constituencies requesting them to vacate the premises once elections are over. However, they forget about vacating the room. Most of the times, we don’t even receive their reply. Officials from the Tehsildar office or the election officers don’t bother to revert back,” said a senior BMC official.
When contacted, Dilip Shinde, Additional Chief Electoral officer of EC said, “We do not have any place in Mumbai. Hence during elections the collectors officer or the deputy collectors requisites places for us ahead of elections where we can store important material/ documents related to elections, which does not include EVMS. We will look into the matter.”
