Govandi slum demolition stopped temporarily after residents’ protest

The residents returned to the site of their broken homes, sitting amid the debris under umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun. They had either slept amidst the mess or at relatives’ homes. Some houses still remained standing, saved by the protest

MUMBAI: Demolitions in the Panchsheel Nagar slum in Govandi were stopped temporarily for seven days after 500 residents protested outside the BMC’s M East ward office on Thursday morning. The corporation razed 200 to 250 houses on the plot on February 6 and 7, allegedly without notice, leaving over 1,000 homeless.

Mumbai, India - Feb. 8, 2024: Residents of Panchsheel Nagar Basti, Govandi West protest outside the Govandi ward office after the Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) demolished their 200 houses in Panchsheel Nagar Basti, Govandi West in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, February 8, 2024. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

Sanjana Krishnan from the Jan Haq Sangharsh Samiti (JHSS), an NGO that has been working in the area for over two years, said, “We’ve given the BMC seven days to fulfil our demands. These include stopping the demolitions till the proper procedure is done; restoring water and electricity connections; making a list of eligible and ineligible slum dwellers based on documents submitted; holding hearings in case of objections; and correct the incorrect data based on which demolitions were done. If all this is not done, we will hold another protest.”

The residents returned to the site of their broken homes, sitting amid the debris under umbrellas to shield themselves from the sun. They had either slept amidst the mess or at relatives’ homes. Some houses still remained standing, saved by the protest.

Maisha, another JHSS activist, said that a notice had been pasted in the slum way back in August on a white sheet of paper without a BMC logo or any signature. The NGO then visited the M East office and submitted documents of the residents’ eligibility. They were assured those residing in the slum before the cut-off date would not be touched but the newer houses would be razed.

On February 2, oral announcements were made by BMC officials about the impending demolition. However, they peppered these with assurances of rehabilitation and with scarce details. Unsure of whether to believe them, when the bulldozers arrived with police protection on February 6, the residents were unprepared. “They weren’t letting us reach our houses,” said Saira Abbas Shaikh.

Some Panchsheel Nagar residents have been living there before the two cut-off dates of 2000 and 2011 (the former get SRA houses free, the latter have to pay ₹2.5 lakh). Yet, these houses were demolished as well. “When we came here over 20 years ago to work as labourers, the BMC itself moved us to this part of this plot,” said Vandana Tayade, vice-president of JHSS.

Some newer residents, like Shaikh and Ansari admitted to shifting here around three years ago from other slums. “The area had trees. We came and built our houses here, as paying rent had become difficult,” said Shaikh.

A BMC official from M East ward denied that no notice had been served, and said that it took time for them to arrange equipment and labour for the demolition. “The demolition will continue with due process,” he said. “The plot is reserved for a working woman’s hostel besides two other reservations.”

Krishnan pointed out that demolitions of this nature were not uncommon in the area. “Two days before Republic Day, 500 houses in Mankhurd’s Annabhau Sathe Nagar (ASN) slum were also demolished,” she said. “Even if this is done on the pretext of construction on public/government land, things rarely move forward. The residents of ASN, named after the leftist Marathi poet and writer, have started rebuilding their houses. This repeated exercise of demolition then functions merely as a harassment tactic by the authorities. They want to assert that this is their land, and they can take it back anytime.”

The BMC official, however, reiterated that further demolitions were on the cards. “The work at ASN hasn’t begun because it is collector’s land and the requisite NOC has not come yet,” he said. When asked why demolitions were carried out before the plot documents were in place, no answer was given.