Mumbai: BMC Demolishes Three Illegal Buildings At Versova

The civic team of K West ward demolished three illegal buildings at Vesave, Andheri (West), on Monday.

The unauthorised, vacant structures were built on land owned by the state government and violated Coastal Regulatory Zones (CRZ) rules, officials said.

The illegal construction was noticed by BMC officials when they visited the location after receiving a letter from the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB).

The silt accumulated at the site was making it difficult for local fisherman to keep their boats in the area. The fishing community had complained about it to the MMB, which in turn asked the civic authorities to look into the matter.

The civic officials had inspected the location last month to resolve the issue. During the inspection, the officials spotted unauthorised buildings being constructed in the area under CRZ. The K West ward had sent a notice to the unauthorised buildings under Section 351 of the BMC Act, 1888.

“Since we did not receive any satisfactory reply, we started demolition of these unauthorised buildings from Monday. While one five-storey building was completely constructed, other two were under construction. Though the land was owned by the state government, the civic body took the initiative and demolished the illegal construction,” another official said

Around 20 engineers, 70 workers and police personnel were deployed for the demolition. Electric breakers, two JCB machines and poclain were also used to demolish the structures.