The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation will run a special drive from October 1 to December 31 against 39,111 unauthorised slum structures that rise above 14 feet, the Free Press Journal reported on September 19. Ward offices will carry out the action, and the civic body has asked occupants to pull down the unauthorised portions themselves before its teams arrive.
Where the structures are
The eastern suburbs hold 31,227 of the flagged structures. The western suburbs account for 4,536 and the island city for 3,348. That puts roughly 80% of the drive in the eastern suburbs, where dense slum pockets have added floors because they had no room to spread.
Mumbai has 2,23,150 slum structures in all, according to figures cited by LatestLY, drawing on Mid-Day’s reporting. The drive therefore touches about one slum structure in six. The same report says the BMC is using its powers under Section 3Z-1 of the Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and Redevelopment) Act, which lets authorities remove unauthorised dwellings in notified slum areas.
The numbers behind the deadline
The BMC says it has already taken eviction action against 4,584 structures and served notices on 611 more. Between August 24 and September 15 its teams reportedly demolished 128 structures, about six a day. Clearing 39,111 in the 92 days between October 1 and December 31 would take about 425 a day. The gap between those two rates suggests ward offices will have to pick which pockets to tackle first.
The political row
Samajwadi Party MLA Rais Shaikh accused the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena alliance of going back on a campaign promise. He told the Free Press Journal that during the BMC elections the alliance had said structures up to 18 feet would be regularised and those above 14 feet protected. He estimates the drive could displace around 1.5 lakh people, a figure that assumes close to four residents per structure. Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad demanded that the city rehabilitate slum dwellers before evicting them. BJP group leader Ganesh Khankar said he was still studying the details. UNI also carried Shaikh’s demand that the BJP clarify its position.
What residents should know
- The target is height. The drive covers structures above 14 feet, which in practice means added upper floors and lofts. The reports so far do not say whether ward teams will remove only the unauthorised upper portions or whole structures. Occupants should ask their ward office directly.
- Upper-floor tenants face the most risk. The Bombay High Court has previously upheld state rules that issue one photo pass per slum structure, lofts included, as a curb on vertical growth. Families renting a first or second floor may therefore have a weaker claim to rehabilitation than the ground-floor owner.
- Notices come first. Anyone who receives one should keep a copy along with any photo pass, electricity bills and survey records, since these decide eligibility in any later redevelopment scheme.
What to watch
The state government could still step in before October 1, given the election promise Shaikh cites. Watch which wards the BMC starts with, since the eastern suburbs carry most of the load, and whether residents who say they never received notice take the matter to court. Maharashtra.today will track the drive as ward offices publish their lists.
Sources: Free Press Journal, Free Press Journal (political reaction), LatestLY / Mid-Day, UNI
This report was written with AI assistance from the publicly reported sources linked here; each fact was cross-checked against at least two of them.