Every Mumbaikar dreads travelling to Saki Naka. In fact, the very name evokes fear and distaste, as it brings to mind the ugly shanties and traffic bottlenecks one has to endure while commuting through the locality which houses a lot many corporate offices and commercial establishments.  Of course there are those who look at you in disbelief for the ability to travel to God’s own hell.  The place was a strict no no as a work destination for me.  It’s a work place for those really desperate, was a feeling I harboured for long.

But things change, and here I find myself traveling to office through this maze of  illegal tenements comprising scrap factories, cattle sheds (tabelas), non descript tea stalls, phone booths,  hotels and bars, small household tenements, not to mention the huge overflowing garbage dumps.  The evenings are the toughest part, with peak hour traffic and auto drivers refuse to commute through the area to drop you to the nearest railway station. But I am all admiration for these brave hearts who drive through this locality every single day to earn a living.

Mumbai leads other cities in terms of illegal structures. Why is it nobody’s concern that the citizenry of the financial capital of India contributing the maximum revenue, have to suffer the ignominy of illegal encroachments with all their attendant problems of  compromised infrastructure and crime?

The answer of course is in the multi crore racket and the close nexus between politicians, urban local body officials and police who are happy to be bribed and in return provide protection to encroachers and illegal structures. For a BMC staffer earning Rs6,000 this is the best way to earn Rs6-lakh every month. Hence it is not in their interest to see these illegal hutments cleared, says a source of mine.

“Forget private land owners, the airport which owns most of the land here and is a government body, has tried hard to clear the area, but with little success, thanks to the political pressure from various quarters,” explains consultant Zaheer Bandukwalla. Mumbai is a city with so much money power that nobody wants to let go of it. You can even get a top film star to inaugurate your illegal business so long as you know to pay the right amounts, he adds.

Andheri (E) and Sakinaka are prime locations in that they provide good access from the western and eastern suburbs and hence can attract working population from these areas. The area is in close proximity to both the domestic and international airports. Developers have cashed in on these advantages and have built commercial establishments with reasonable office rentals.  Corporates of course have made a grab for these attractive rentals. Key officials are housed in nearby localities while the rest of the staff can travel through the area.

“In case of public property, the government has wide powers to remove the encroachments under various Acts,” explains advocate Lakhamshi Rambhia. In many cases however the encroachers are settled by the politicians themselves be it municipal corporators, legislators or MPs. They are provided protection in return for votes and bribes. There are also the cases of subjugating municipal and government officials to not take action against encroachers, he adds.

While ordinary citizens need to prove their bonafides in terms of proof of residence and other details before they get a power connection or telephone connections. The inhabitants in these encroachments have illegal power, water and telephone connections, all of which thrives with blessings from the powers that be.

The stance of the government in terms of extending the cut-off date for slum dwellers in the city from the year 1995 to 2000 is reflective of their desire to hold on to power at any cost. The ordinary citizen and the city have to bear the brunt of this.  Corporates like Reliance are doing their best to get central intervention in order to get the land cleared to enable smooth running of the metro.

It all starts with a few huts which goes unnoticed. With political patronage, it increases to the point where it becomes difficult to remove them as then there are implications of a political backlash. It goes without saying that political will is a must for the removal of these illegal structures.

 Thane is one example where an official exerted his powers to remove illegal structures and the results are there for all to see. For things to improve, the government needs to take a stance on this. “There need to be guidelines where the Bombay Municipal Corporation reports on a periodic basis as to what it has done on various fronts. The BMC with its huge staff is the most unorganized and is hardly accountable. This needs to change,” says Bandukwalla.