BMC forcibly evicts Vikhroli residents opposing redevelopment plan

The BMC on Tuesday forcibly evicted 66 tenants from Parksite Colony in Vikhroli (West), clearing three of the 28 buildings it has classified as “dangerous” under the C1 category

MUMBAI: The BMC on Tuesday forcibly evicted 66 tenants from Parksite Colony in Vikhroli (West), clearing three of the 28 buildings it has classified as “dangerous” under the C1 category. The demolition and rehabilitation plan for the colony, which stands on BMC land, remains mired in legal and civic disputes, with residents accusing the civic body of bypassing due process and disregarding their rehabilitation rights.

The BMC on Tuesday forcibly evicted 66 tenants from Parksite Colony in Vikhroli (West), clearing three of the 28 buildings it has classified as “dangerous” under the C1 category. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Satish Bate / Hindustan Times)

Tenants resisted the eviction drive, saying the alternative accommodation offered to them, primarily at an Oberoi Realty project in Bhandup, would severely disrupt their daily lives. They also argued that they were entitled to rehabilitation under DCPR 33(9), which, they claimed, rendered them eligible for 650-sq-ft homes instead of the 405-sq- ft units currently promised.

In a letter dated November 10, the Association argued that the project must be treated as cluster redevelopment under DCPR 33(9). The notice to vacate, the letter stated, was issued “without resolving these fundamental issues, consent, agreements, entitlements and safe transit”, amounting to “premature and unjust coercion” and causing “unnecessary anxiety among tenants who are willing to cooperate but seek fairness and transparency”.

The Parksite Ekta Welfare Association said it was distressed by the 48-hour eviction notices issued on November 6 and again on November 14, alleging that the BMC had ignored multiple written representations submitted to it and municipal commissioner Bhushan Gagrani.

The association’s president Amanat Abbas Khan said that the eviction amounted to “a brazen denial of our constitutional rights”, insisting that the over-60-year-old buildings qualify for cluster redevelopment under DCPR 33(9) and therefore larger homes and “modern amenities” for the residents. He contended that the 405-sq-ft units on offer were inadequate, adding that “one parking for eight tenements with inadequate compound area” would compromise the quality of living. “This is just manipulation by the BMC,” he said.

Long-time resident Ajit D, who has lived in Parksite for over four decades, said that families were being pushed into uncertainty without proper agreements or timelines. “The residents of two buildings who vacated four years ago are still living in 180-sq-ft transit rooms in Vikhroli,” he pointed out. “We do not want to rot in smaller rooms with our big families for 15 years without an assurance. But the BMC has forcibly thrown out our families and belongings and vacated three buildings.”

Residents maintained that they had repeatedly asked the BMC for a joint meeting and had opposed what they call “unilateral redevelopment” without the mandatory consent of tenants. They are insisting on registered individual agreements specifying rehabilitation area, transit rent, construction timelines, amenities, corpus funds, and penalties for delays. Many fear that being relocated to Bhandup will disrupt their children’s schooling, jobs, and access to essential services.

Officials from the estate department of the BMC’s N ward defended the eviction, stating that the structures had been assessed as unsafe and that tenants were being given two options—transit accommodation at Oberoi Realty in Bhandup or at a camp on LBS Marg in Vikhroli. One official said that the 405-sq-ft ownership units were a better deal than the occupants’ current 280-sq-ft homes. “The buildings numbered 17 and 18 are expected to be ready for occupation by next November,” he said.

The official also clarified that formal agreements could not be executed at this stage because such documentation is permissible only when rehabilitation is allotted through a lottery system. “Unless they vacate the flats, how can we give them a timeline?” he said. “But two new buildings have already been constructed within two years. This is the BMC’s first self-executed redevelopment project without a private builder. Private involvement would have delayed the work by six years.”

Parksite’s buildings being classified in the C1 or “dangerous” category was first challenged by the residents in the city civil court in 2019 and subsequently in the Bombay high court in September 2024. Residents had then undertaken to remain in the structures at their own risk but the BMC said it could not be held responsible for potential hazards.

According to the estate department, a total of 594 tenants from 28 buildings will eventually receive new homes; the current inconvenience, he said, would last for “only two years”. On Tuesday, Buildings 22, 23 and 24 were vacated, covering the 66 tenants evicted during the latest drive.