Mumbai: BMC asks MMRDA to clear encroachments in HE ward

Mumbai: BMC asks MMRDA to clear encroachments in HE ward

According to senior civic officials, the structure which fell down on Monday was built on the land that was owned by the Western Railway

Pratip AcharyaUpdated: Wednesday, June 09, 2021, 01:08 AM IST
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Mumbai: A day after a four-storeyed building came down crashing at Behram Pada slum in Bandra east, claiming the life of one person and injuring five, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has written to Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) urging them to take necessary action against the encroachments on railway lands of the H East (HE) ward, which covers the Bandra East area.

According to senior civic officials, the structure which fell down on Monday was built on the land that was owned by the Western Railway. Furthermore, civic officials said that the planning authority for the entire Bandra east, Behram Pada and Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) areas are with the MMRDA.

Alka Sasane, assistant municipal commissioner and in-charge of HE ward, said that her office has been getting numerous complaints about illegal ground plus three and five structures that have been constructed on lands owned by Western Railway and Revenue Department, without permission of MMRDA.

"These structures have been constructed in a haphazard manner and may collapse during monsoon or post-monsoon. There is also a possibility of fire incidents due to illegal electricity connections and loose wires, hanging in the passages and by-lanes," Sasane said in the letter.

"The structure that fell was not a proper building, it was a four-storeyed makeshift shelter, that was constructed by setting up tents and shanties one above the other," Sasane told FPJ on Tuesday.

She said that following Monday's incident a precautionary notice has been given to the Western Railway by the BMC. She also said now that with the monsoon is a few days away, the local ward office has earmarked a few municipal schools, so that in case any similar incident takes place again, the authorities will be able to rehabilitate the victims over there.

"Mumbai has multiple agencies as planning authorities, due to which, a lot of paperwork and time is consumed for initiating a single plan of action," Sasane said.

Pankaj Joshi - principal director of Urban Centre Mumbai and urban planing expert said that there should be one agency that needs to be appointed as panning authority or else, the accountability gets lost.

"Urban areas require only one planning authority and this problem of having multiple agencies have only worsened the scenario. Having a single authority not only makes things transparent but also makes the involved agencies behave in s responsible manner," Joshi told FPJ.

"Other than the BMC no other agency involves public representatives in their course of action. We believe the Mumbai Municipal Corporation act is strong enough to keep Mumbai running smoothly and they have managing important departments like health and education for so many years now," said Joshi.

Parag Masurkar - Deputy Municipal Commissioner (DMC) said that earlier encroachers from the Samrawadi Nullah in Bandra east were shifted to a separate location by the authorities.

"We understand that so many people couldn't be shifted overnight but all the involved agencies are working towards formulating steps for implementation," he said.

When FPJ contacted senior officials of the MMRDA, they remained unavailable for comment.

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