Mumbai | September 11, 2026
The Mumbai suburban district administration has cleared another six acres of government land near the Children’s Aid Society along the Sion-Panvel Highway in Mankhurd, removing 57 illegal commercial structures from the site, according to a report by Loksatta – Mumbai.
The latest action is part of an encroachment-removal campaign led by Mumbai Suburban Collector Sourabh Katiyar to reclaim government plots where encroachments had remained for years. Katiyar told the newspaper that the administration has so far taken possession of 53 acres of government land across the suburban district.
The Mankhurd operation was carried out with police protection provided by Deputy Commissioner of Police Sameer Sheikh. Officials from the eastern suburbs, including the additional collector responsible for encroachment matters and the deputy collector of the Chembur division, participated in the action. The 57 commercial units on the six-acre plot were demolished, the report said.
The administration had earlier cleared a 14-acre plot in Mankhurd. Other areas included in the reported 53-acre total are an 11-acre plot in the Kurla scrap market area, six acres near the Tata Power transmission line and the main highway, the Shakila Ansari Compound in Deonar, two acres in Shankara Vasahat in Chembur, and a combined 14 acres in the Borivali and Andheri talukas.
The collector said the cleared plots had been taken into government possession. The district administration also indicated that the campaign would continue, although the report did not specify the proposed future use or redevelopment plans for the reclaimed land.
The action also included a separate case involving encroachment on mangrove land near the Juhu-Versova Link Road. According to the report, a person had occupied the plot after obtaining a court stay order. A structure known as Goldy Garage had operated in the area for several years, and the district administration had been unable to act while the legal protection remained in force. The construction was eventually demolished after follow-up by tehsildar Snehalata Swami, the report said.
The latest Mankhurd clearance places the focus on the administration’s continuing effort to enforce control over government land and remove long-standing commercial and other structures. The authorities’ next steps will determine how the reclaimed plots are secured and managed after the demolition operations.
