The City and Industrial Development Corporation’s (CIDCO) Unauthorised Construction Department found more than 2,000 illegal projects under its purview in 2024. The government cleared about 2 lakh square meters of land as part of its eviction campaign.
CIDCO sent out 2,160 notices in all during the year. Of these, 2,102 structures were targeted for removal, including shanties, RCC buildings, and temporary (kaccha) constructions. “Of the 547 demolition drives we had planned, 302 were executed successfully. A CIDCO officer stated, “A total of 2,102 illegal structures were demolished.” Over the year, the department also cleared 206,431 square meters of land.
Under the direction of Suresh Mengde, CIDCO’s Chief Vigilance Officer, the department continued its removal operations with a small workforce, even though the majority of its officials, staff, and police forces were assigned to electoral duties for the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly elections.
Regarding the elimination of encroachments and unauthorised constructions in the Navi Mumbai area, CIDCO officials claim that the agency has been implementing plans under court decisions from petitions filed in the High Court. Newspapers regularly issue announcements asking people to avoid encroaching on or building unapproved structures on land that CIDCO has purchased. In order to prevent financial fraud, the leaflets also caution locals to confirm the required paperwork before buying apartments in unapproved buildings.
Nine controllers, approximately 20 surveyors, senior police inspectors, 35 police officers and staff, 23 security staff, 17 members of the Maharashtra Security Force, engineers supervising unauthorised constructions, and the Chief Controller of Unauthorised Construction (Navi Mumbai and NAINA) make up the department.
Source: Lokmat Times
