Yari Road-Lokhandwala bridge trigger evictions

Forty-two slum families in Andheri West face eviction for a new bridge project, with no rehabilitation offered, sparking criticism of the BMC's actions.

MUMBAI: Forty-two slum families are being evicted in Siddharth Nagar, Andheri west, to make way for a new bridge that will connect Yari Road and Lokhandwala. The slum-dwellers, who are not being rehabilitated, have been given a fortnight to vacate their homes. They claim the civic administration has deliberately invoked the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, rather than the Slum Rehabilitation Act, 1995,to avoid providing them alternative accommodation.

Mumbai, India. 08, 2025 - 42 families have received the eviction notices from Mhada, and BMC proposed the development of a connector bridge between Yari Road and Versova in Andheri. Mumbai, India. 08, 2025. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo) (Raju Shinde)

Designed to ease traffic congestion and improve east-west connectivity in the area, the ₹42-crore bridge is expected to significantly cut travel time for Versova residents. With the upcoming Versova-Bandra Sea Link, the new bridge would offer an alternative route, potentially reducing the commute time from 30 minutes to just 10.

The 393-metre-long bridge will straddle the Kavathe Creek, linking Yari Road and Versova to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Nagar, Lokhandwala Complex, and Samarth Nagar. The 110-metre segment over the creek will be constructed as a single-span steel arch. The approach road from Yari Road will measure 166 metres, while the Lokhandwala side will be 117 metres long.

On September 26, the Mumbai suburban district collector’s office issued a public notice regarding the slum-dwellers’ eviction, describing their homes as unauthorised structures.

An official from the bridges department of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) confirmed the eviction notice sent to 42 families, adding that the land-clearance process is underway.

According to the official, a site inspection on July 24 revealed that despite earlier clearance in 2011, 41 huts and a temple – both temporary and permanent in nature – had re-emerged on the land designated for the bridge. As a result, the authorities invoked Section 50(3) of the Maharashtra Land Revenue Code, 1966, and issued eviction notices in accordance with a 2008 state circular.

The slum families have been instructed to vacate within 15 days of the notice’s publication. Failure to comply will lead to forcible demolition, with the expenses recovered as arrears of land revenue.

Durgaprasad Chouhan, one of the residents who has received the eviction notice, voiced concerns about the lack of rehabilitation measures. “The BMC or collector has no intention of providing alternative accommodation. We have been residing here since 1993 as labourers, first to construct Dhanalaxmi building, where we were provided huts on the road opposite Four Bungalows in Siddharth Nagar. In 2000, the building was constructed and then we decided to build our huts at least 50 metres away from the construction site. Now, we have received a notice to demolish on our own or else they will impose a fine and they will demolish it. There are 800 such huts in Siddharth Nagar but those affected are 42.”

Shubham Kothari, a member of the Jan Hakk Sangarsh Samiti, criticised the BMC’s approach to evictions and housing. “The BMC spends hundreds of crores of rupees on the construction of roads, but when it comes to housing the poor, it doesn’t want to spend a penny. We are intentionally being evicted under MLRC instead of the Slum Rehabilitation Act, under which rehabilitation would have been mandatory.”

Meanwhile, a civic official said the BMC has secured approval from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, as the bridge will pass through 0.21 hectares of mangrove forest.