Mumbai Congress president and MP Varsha Gaikwad has urged Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to halt a proposed Mumbai slum demolition drive that could target 39,111 structures measuring 14 feet or more in height across the city and its suburbs.
According to a statement issued by Gaikwad’s office, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation is scheduled to conduct a special drive against unauthorised additions and constructions in slum areas from October 1 to December 31, 2026. The statement said the civic body had identified 39,111 structures for possible action.
The figures cited in the statement cover 223,150 slum structures across Mumbai. Of the structures identified for action, 3,348 are located in the island city, 4,536 in the western suburbs and 31,227 in the eastern suburbs. The statement did not include an independent response from the BMC confirming the figures or the details of the proposed drive.
Gaikwad said residents should be rehabilitated before any demolition action is taken. She questioned the proposed height threshold, saying that the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance had earlier supported protection for slum structures up to 18 feet, according to the statement issued by her office.
The statement said the BMC had already taken action against 4,584 structures and issued notices to another 611. Residents of the remaining structures identified in the statement have reportedly been asked to voluntarily remove unauthorised portions before enforcement action is taken.
The civic administration also reportedly acted against 128 unauthorised constructions between August 24 and September 15, while action against another 140 structures was proposed, the statement said. It described the planned three-month drive as an exercise to remove unauthorised additions and constructions in slum areas.
Gaikwad alleged that the proposed action would displace poor and working-class residents and claimed that government and civic rules were being changed to benefit private interests. These are political allegations made in the statement and were not independently established in the report. She called on the BJP and Shiv Sena to clarify their position and asked the chief minister to intervene.
The proposed enforcement raises an immediate administrative question for Mumbai: how demolition of unauthorised portions will be coordinated with rehabilitation for households living in affected structures. Gaikwad said the Congress would oppose action that leaves slum residents homeless and reiterated that rehabilitation should precede demolition.
The reported drive is scheduled to continue until December 31, 2026. The BMC’s stated or reported enforcement plan, the notices issued to residents and the rehabilitation arrangements, if any, are the next developments expected to determine how the proposed action proceeds.
