Razing of 34 illegal buildings in Vasai begins

Residents say they have nowhere to go; heavy police presence deployed in area

- Megha Sood

MUMBAI: Fifteen-year-old Garima Gupta, a Std X student in a Hindi-medium school in Vasai, made her way home after taking an examination on Thursday but found to her utter shock and dismay that her home had been demolished.

"People are getting houses free, but my father had bought this house with his hard-earned money and now we have lost it. Not only do I have to cope with this loss, I don't know how I will manage to study for the remaining exams with our family rendered homeless," said Gupta.

The 15-year-old and her family is among 15 families who were evacuated from Om Tulsi Apartments - one of 41 unauthorised buildings in Achole in Nalasopara East, built by unscrupulous builders on land reserved for civic amenities. Their predicament is the human toll taken by corruption that has become endemic in a system that allows developers to thrive at the cost of regular folk.

Last year, the Supreme Court had ordered 41 buildings in Achole to be demolished. Seven of these buildings, which were dangerously dilapidated and vacated by their occupants, have already been demolished by the Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC). The civic body on Thursday started razing the remaining 34 illegal buildings, which will render around 8,000 residents of Jai Ambe Welfare Society homeless.