TMC spends Rs 8 crore on demolition drive, frees land worth Rs 800 crore

Thane Municipal Corporation’s recently concluded 8 month long demolition drive, which ended up freeing 75 acres of land, was the biggest drive undertaken in Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) in recent times.

The demolition drive led by Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) chief Sanjeev Jaiswal started in November last year. Around 3,000 encroachments from various wards in the city were razed in the 8 month period, freeing over 75 acres or 3.3 million sq.ft of land.

Of the 3,000 encroachments brought down by TMC officials, around 2,100 were permanently demolished and around 900 were partially demolished.

According to TMC officials, Rs 8 crore of the tax payers’ money was spent in executing the drive which resulted in the freeling land worth 100 times more in value.

As per the current ready reckoner value, the 75 acres of the freed land is valued around Rs 800 crore.

The structures razed by the civic body included shop extensions, commercial units, single and multi-storeyed buildings that obstructed the construction of roads marked in the city development plan. Most of the encroached and illegal structures razed were along Ghodbunder Road, Mumbra and Pokhran areas. The civic body now aims at commencing the road widening and development project in these to the earliest.

While activists and Thane citizens have welcomed the civic body’s move, they have also sought an explanation from officials on how the illegal structures were allowed to mushroom in the city in the first place.

Demolition at Shatrinagar….
Continued…for second day under d guidance of TMC MC @SJaiswal_IASpic.twitter.com/aTkX5cdrzb

— Sandeep Malvi (@malavi_sandeep) May 19, 2016