Mumbai civic body razes Mahim structure after Raj Thackeray calls it ‘illegal’
1 min read 23 Mar 2023, 04:40 PM ISTFollowing Thackeray's threat, an emergency meeting was held on Thursday morning with officials from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the police department
PremiumMumbai Civic authorities on Thursday began a demolition drive at the Mahim coast in response to Raj Thackeray's, the leader of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), allegations of illegal encroachment in the area.
On Wednesday, Thackeray made the allegations during his annual Gudi Padwa rally on Wednesday, where he claimed that an illegal religious structure belonging to the minority community had been constructed in the middle of the Arabian Sea. He presented a video of the structure and gave the state government an ultimatum to remove it within a month, warning that if they did not, his party workers would build a temple next to it.
Following Thackeray's rally, an emergency meeting was held on Thursday morning with officials from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the police department, and the collector's office to discuss the operational process of demolishing the structure.
Mumbai City Resident Collector Sadanand Jadhav told PTI the "mazar' and the structure around it had come up illegally on revenue department land. A six-member team was formed for its demolition with the help of personnel from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and Mumbai police, he added.
The BMC provided logistical support and manpower for the operation, which was initiated by the collector's office in Mumbai city.
BMC source told Indian Express, “There was a small island-like land parcel within 15 metre from the mainland that could have been created by reclaiming the bay waters. The foundation of the parcel has been demolished along with some temporary structures like bamboo sticks and fences. It appears that these structures were erected recently and there was no concrete construction present at the island."
According to the sources, the jurisdiction of the land parcel on which the structures were built was under the collector of Mumbai city. As such, they were the agency responsible for the operation, while the BMC and police department provided support as per protocol.
