A large human chain protest was organised on Sunday against alleged illegal constructions on Belapur Hill in Navi Mumbai by the ‘Save Belapur Hills Forum’ and the ‘NatConnect Foundation’, news agency PTI reported.
The protesters demanded immediate government intervention to avert a potential tragedy similar to the 2023 Irshalwadi landslide in Raigad district, which had claimed 84 lives.
Activists alleged that at least 30 unauthorised structures are continuing to expand on the landslide-prone slopes of the hill, PTI reported.
“Information obtained from CIDCO under the RTI Act reveals that these illegal constructions occupy roughly 2.3 lakh sq ft of public land,” an activist claimed.
The forum further alleged that large-scale tree felling carried out to facilitate these constructions has significantly weakened the soil stability of the hills, PTI reported.
“We are not against any specific community or structure. Our primary concern is the safety of the devotees visiting these hill-top sites and the over 600 families living directly in the danger zone below the slopes,” said BN Kumar, director of NatConnect Foundation.
Kapil Kulkarni of the Save Belapur Hills Forum said that although assurances of action were given as early as 2015, the number of structures has only increased over the past decade.
Mumbai civic body clears 65 illegal structures in Kandivali West
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), during the early hours of Friday, carried out a major eviction drive in the Mahavir Nagar area of Kandivali West. The civic authority removed 65 unauthorised constructions and hawkers to ease congestion and restore public spaces.
According to officials, the eviction drive was undertaken by the civic body’s R-South administrative division under the guidance of Deputy Commissioner (Zone 7) Sandhya Nandedkar and led by Assistant Commissioner (R-South Division) Aarti Golekar.
The official statement also emphasised that several unauthorised structures had come up in the locality, along with illegal hawking activities, leading to obstruction of vehicular movement and inconvenience to pedestrians.
In response, a coordinated campaign was launched by various departments under the R-South division. The drive resulted in the demolition of unauthorised constructions and the eviction of hawkers encroaching on public areas.
(With PTI inputs)
