100 illegal shop extensions, 40 stalls razed in Mumbai

Mumbai city news: The action is part of a BMC drive against establishments setting up sheds and stalls that encroach onto public spaces

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) demolished 40 illegal food and clothing stalls and razed extensions of more than 100 stores near Santacruz station on Tuesday.

A shopkeeper looks at demolished stalls at MG Road in Santacruz in Mumbai on Tuesday.(Shashi S Kashyap/HT PHOTO)

An H/West ward official said 40 stalls that were blocking traffic were demolished at Tilak Road, MG Road and Kanubai Desai Road in Santacruz (west).

The official said that the stalls were at least four years old. “We checked if they had licenses and they didn’t,” added the official.

The BMC also took action against at least 100 stores on these roads that had put up illegal sheds. The stores were in the allotted area but the sheds were encroached on footpaths, said an official who supervised the demolition.

The action is part of a BMC drive against establishments setting up sheds and stalls that encroach onto public spaces — meant to be kept free and open for easy access by fire engines in case of an emergency.

Every monsoon, several establishments across Mumbai erect sheds without the civic body’s permission.