BMC plays catch up as illegal shanties come up at Kurla a week after civic drive

Mumbai: Sporadic civic action against illegal structures is not enough to prevent illegal slums from coming up. Just a week after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) razed around 50 illegal structures at a market in Kurla, the work of building a new illegal settlement barely a kilometre away continues unabated.

The land along the RCF railway line, a private line that runs from Kurla to Chembur, has seen around 100 new structures crop up in the past two years. However, residents said while new structures have come up in the last two-three years, a majority have existed since a decade.

The diary road in Nehru Nagar saw the demolition of illegal shop structures as the BMC plans to widen the road, but is unable to control new structures. Some of the shop owners said they have been paying to keep officials quiet for generations.

One such shopkeeper is Anant Tambe (50), who sold snacks and cold drinks from his illegal structure. “Just because they have no option but to raze us because of the road they are doing it, otherwise my family was running this shop for the last 30 years,” he said.

But autorickshaw driver, Jaykumar Gorke said, “Now there is a lot of space to walk and drive. Before, the access road to the SCLR was absolutely crazy at peak-hours.”

On the other hand, slums outside the RCF railway line, have come up illegally on a sewage line run by the BMC. Kurla, L-Ward officer Ajit Kumar Ambi said, “If there are any new illegal structures we will take action. We’ve been trying to get rid of them slowly and steadily.”