— The Mumbai suburban district administration has cleared six more acres of government land near the Children’s Aid Society along the Sion-Panvel Highway in Mankhurd, removing 57 unauthorised commercial units from the site. The latest action takes the total government land reclaimed from encroachments in Mumbai’s suburban district to 53 acres, according to the district administration.
The clearance was carried out as part of a wider campaign led by Mumbai Suburban Collector Sourabh Katiyar to remove long-pending encroachments from government-owned plots. Katiyar said the latest operation was part of the ongoing drive against encroachments on public land.
The Mankhurd plot had previously contained 57 illegal commercial shops, all of which were demolished during the operation. The action was conducted by officials from the eastern suburbs and the Chembur subdivision, with police security provided by Deputy Commissioner of Police Sameer Sheikh, according to the report.
The administration had earlier cleared a 14-acre plot in Mankhurd. Together with the latest six-acre clearance, the Mankhurd operations account for 20 acres of land reclaimed by the authorities. Other sites included 11 acres in the Kurla scrap area, six acres along the Tata Power line and the main highway, the Shakeela Ansari compound in Deonar, two acres at Shankara Vasahat in Chembur, and a combined 14 acres in the Borivali and Andheri talukas.
The district administration said these plots had been taken back into government possession after the encroachments were removed. The campaign is expected to continue, with officials identifying and acting against additional occupations of government land.
The administration has also taken action in a separate case involving an encroachment on mangrove land near the Juhu-Versova Link Road. The site had been occupied by an individual who obtained a stay order, while a structure known as Goldy Garage had operated in the area for several years. The suburban collector’s office had earlier been unable to remove the construction because of the court protection.
Following continued legal and administrative efforts, Tehsildar Snehalata Swami led the action that resulted in the demolition of the structures, the report said. The Mankhurd clearance and the separate Juhu-Versova action form part of the district administration’s continuing enforcement against encroachments on government and environmentally sensitive land.
