Mumbai: At Cuffe Parade, Rs 25 lakh ocean homes!

The encroachment stretches from Badhwar Park to the Taj President Hotel, Cuffe Parade. Pics/Shadab Khan

An illegally reclaimed area of around 100-acres between Nariman Point and Cuffe Parade has been gradually encroached on by the slum mafias over the past few decades. This encroachment gained momentum during the lockdown when the mafias expanded their business by creating multi-storey slums. In a note of concern, this area near Badhwar Park jetty is where Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab entered the city for the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.

Locals claim to have lodged hundreds of complaints with the Collector regarding the illegal reclamation and encroachment. The Cuffe Parade Residents' Association (CPRA), many individual residents and locals have complained since 1997 but "no action has been taken till date," they allege.

Also read: Mumbai: Sea-facing is passe, illegal homes come up in water

The vice-president of CPRA, Mohit Chaturvedi, told mid-day the mafias have encroached on the land, sea and sky. He said, "They (slum mafias) have not only illegally reclaimed land from the sea but also mushroomed on the land and turned their one room houses into multi-storey buildings. There are daily excavations in the sea near Cuffe Parade opposite Badhwar Park and they seem to be for the construction of unauthorised hutments and shanties."

Former Secretary General of CPRA Padmakar Nandekar said, "I have submitted more than 100 complaints to the Collector of Mumbai but no action has been taken against the slum mafias. The slum mafias illegally reclaimed land from the sea before building rooms. The shanties mushroomed during lockdown."

‘A nocturnal activity'

Nandekar further told mid-day, "The mafias become super active at night. Above all, the construction materials including sand, cement, bricks, asbestos sheets, rods, etc. are carried to the construction site when there is a high tide. The slum mafias and local goons, under the garb of local fishermen, have encroached upon the garden area whose sub plot numbers are 101, 102, 103, 104 in the Development Plan of Mumbai valid till 2023."

Locals claim they have been complaining about the illegal reclamation and encroachment since the 1990s

"The slum mafias bring the construction materials in their trucks and it is further carried on boats or hathgaadi. The landing points for these mafias are the Fire Brigade station near Nariman Point and Captain Prakash Pethe Marg, behind CPRA Garden," he added.

The executive committee member of CPRA and in-charge of the Bay View Marina Garden Parul Nandekar said, "We created a beautiful garden on the collector's land and avoided the encroachment on 7-acre land where we planted 16,000 trees. The slum goons have their eyes on this garden also and temporary structures have been created, but the collector is not taking action against the illegal activities."

‘Highly profitable business'

The residential space in Cuffe Parade is one of the costliest in the world as the price of 1 sqft of land varies between Rs 60,000 and Rs 1.20 lakh. "After bribing the local administration, it costs around Rs 5 lakh to construct a 500 sqft room in the area and the mafias sell it for Rs 25 lakh. So it's a highly profitable business. The owners further furnish the room of even 100 sqft to rent it out for Rs 10,000 per month," said Nandekar, who is also the secretary of Jalkiran building in Cuffe Parade. Nandekar further added that in a bid to create pillars in the sea, "the slum mafias use special quality cement which is used in making sea links."

Chaturvedi said, "We have noticed that in Machimaar Nagar and Shiv Shastri Nagar, there has been rampant and frenetic illegal construction activity in the past one year but more so in the past 8-12 weeks, from March. There are now suddenly four-storey cement structures being constructed, like flats with facilities and amenities like air conditioning and the works."

"This can cause a grave threat to Mumbai as we have seen in the past, such as the terrorist attacks. We are extremely concerned about the safety of our residents and the citizens of Mumbai. Such illegal constructions are not only in violation of the CRZ but most importantly hazardous to the environment. These illegal constructions also harm the mangroves guarding the coast and can have an impact on Cuffe Parade and the city of Mumbai before we know it," Chaturvedi said.

He also pointed that Cuffe Parade has heavy traffic all the time which has substantially increased due to the space captured by these illegal shops and establishments including the garages.

Officials busy and unaware

When mid-day contacted Collector Rajeev Nivatkar regarding the issue, he said, "I am busy in a meeting with the chief minister." Additional Collector Anita Meshram Wankhede said, "I have joined the office hardly six months ago. So I have no idea if any complaint has been made to the Collector office. I need to check and let you know."