The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation demolished all 27 structures occupying a plot reserved for a BEST bus stand in Borivli East on Wednesday, hours after the Supreme Court criticised the civic body for failing to comply with repeated directions. The action secured partial relief for BMC commissioner Ashwini Bhide, whose salary-freeze direction and contempt show-cause notice were later recalled by the court.
The cleared site, measuring about 3,400 square metres near S V Road, had been occupied by 24 commercial units and three residential structures. The commercial establishments included an automobile garage, a tailoring shop and coaching classes. Around 70 civic personnel, accompanied by police, supervised the demolition carried out by the R-Central ward.
The Supreme Court had on Tuesday recorded a prima facie finding of wilful disobedience and accused the BMC of being “hand in glove” with encroachers after the civic body repeatedly failed to implement its directions. The court had earlier ordered the removal of the encroachments and the operationalisation of the BEST bus stand within three months on August 13, 2025. It reiterated the direction on November 13 and again on July 28 this year, when the civic body was granted another three months to comply.
On Wednesday, the court withdrew the show-cause contempt notice issued to Bhide after the BMC informed it that the required compliance steps had been taken. It also recalled the portion of its previous order directing the freezing of the November salaries of Bhide and her personal staff. The court clarified, however, that it was not expressing an opinion at this stage on the extent of compliance.
Bhide has been directed to file a personal affidavit detailing the steps taken before the next hearing on December 8. The court also retained its direction imposing costs of Rs 5 lakh on the BMC and ordered that the payment be made within the prescribed timeline.
The proceedings have also exposed internal weaknesses in the civic body’s handling of litigation and enforcement. Senior civic officials said the BMC was likely to issue show-cause notices to the assistant municipal commissioner of R-Central ward and the law officer concerned over the handling of the case. At the civic headquarters, the law department was reprimanded for failing to appropriately represent the corporation and for not keeping senior bureaucrats informed about the hearing and subsequent developments.
BMC law committee member Siddharth Sharma described the demolition as a failure of the law department and the officials handling the litigation. He sought an independent inquiry into whether officials had examined the original intimation of disapproval, sanctioned plans, consent terms, commencement certificate and the complete building proposal file before the dispute reached the Supreme Court.
The matter will return to the Supreme Court on December 8, when Bhide’s personal affidavit and the BMC’s compliance with the court’s directions are expected to be considered.
