BMC clears 65 illegal structures in Kandivali west eviction drive

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.

As per the 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.

Three JCB excavators used in eviction drive by BMC

Furthermore, the eviction drive was conducted using three JCB excavators and seven dumpers, along with other necessary equipment. A total of 47 civic officers and employees participated in the drive, supported by adequate police personnel to maintain law and order.

Civic officials further stated that the primary objective of the campaign is to ensure clean, safe and obstruction-free public spaces for residents. The Municipal Corporation administration has indicated that such enforcement drives will continue on a regular basis to curb illegal encroachments across the city.

BJP`s Prabhakar Shinde elected unopposed as Standing Committee chairman

In a different development earlier last week, Prabhakar Shinde was on Friday elected unopposed as the chairman of the Standing Committee of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

The announcement was made by Mayor Ritu Tawde, who presided over the special meeting convened to elect the head of the key statutory committee. The election follows the recently concluded BMC Elections 2026. In a special meeting held on February 16, 26 corporators were nominated to the Standing Committee. 

The chairperson of the Education Committee is an ex-officio member of the panel.

A special session was held at 2 pm on Friday to conduct the election. As Shinde was the sole candidate to file nomination papers, he was declared elected unopposed.

Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) Dr Ashwini Joshi, Municipal Secretary Manjiri Deshpande and all Standing Committee members were present during the proceedings.

The Standing Committee is one of the most powerful bodies within the civic administration, responsible for key financial approvals and policy decisions.