A middle-class Indian person struggles all his life to complete his dream of buying a house in Mumbai. Even if he manages to take one in his forties, he spends the rest of his life paying the loan for it. Straight life for a common person in our country is like that. And people continue to slog hard, build houses, pay taxes and survive natural disasters too. Saving is an impossible thought for them. Good Education for their children and a decent lifestyle for the family are the only boxes on their bucket list. While we talk about this reality, there is another reality that surfaces in the city. The 3-4 floored houses built illegally, in and around most slums in Mumbai are growing. They are not just residences but registered businesses like Wine shops, hotels, groceries and much more. They are running peacefully without any hindrance or government checks.
The question is how some people can dare to build a brick-walled building of three floors without permission from the authorities. And they continue to function untouched. On making amendments to a balcony in a humble gated society, there are notices sent by BMC officials in order to check the changes. Many are told to reverse changes. Shops putting up roofs in the rainy season to avoid water entering shops have to take permission and are later reminded to remove them. They are charged a fine if that’s not done. There are rules in place that don’t seem to be applied to all but are executed selectively. A builder has to go through multiple checks, rules, regulations, safety checks and sureties before planning a construction project.
The BMC authorities in Mumbai need to visit the New Deepakwadi Khar, a service road on the Western Express Highway and check the construction spree happening there. Initially, it looked like any slum with lavish living. Now they are taking shape like a high-rise community. Soon we might hay 5 floored slums too since we have already crossed the third floor. There is a wine shop that has an excise licence number mentioned on its hoarding. The other enterprises also have electricity, a television dish and all the possible amenities. They must be having GST numbers, Aadhar Udyam Registration etc. Since they run their businesses they also must be having all taxation and government documentation.
Are locations visited and checked by the authorities before providing excise licences to enterprises? Is it not required to check if the address provided for Aadhar Udyam Registration is a legal address? Is it required to have legally constructed premises to run a legal business? Is there a stability or construction norm for these high-rising slums? Aren’t we going to keep this growing illegal activity in check? The case discussed here is of one location. Whether it is Behrampada, Reclamation, Dharavi or anywhere in Mumbai, we have lost control. Near Bandra station’s East side, there is a new slum construction happening all the time. There is a specific slum in Bandra where there is a fire hazard many times, nobody is hurt but there is the help provided later and reconstruction restarts. And this has happened many times. Is this a real fire or a strategy? Are these 2-3 floor houses built with bricks safe to stay with families? Why has BMC not taken any action for years? Mithi River has been a hazardous place for a long but the slum construction there is as fast-growing as the development we see at Ghodbunder Road. The only difference is big builders are building complexes in Thane and we have expanding slum construction with vertical and horizontal growth.
Another serious business that has come up is to buy slum rooms and give them on rent. And when the redevelopment schemes come in, get flats out of those slums which can be sold at a price four times what was invested in buying the slum rooms. This business is not just useful for slum dwellers but for wealthy people who have to capacity to invest crores in such rooms. The higher class gets away with money which becomes their shield. The lower class gets away because they are the vote bank and the middle class keeps watching them be a scapegoat to all that’s the worldly struggle. Targeting the middle class because it is law-fearing and law-abiding is not right. And only expecting them to follow all rules is unfair. Rules should apply to all. The higher class and the lower class too. It’s a hint to the BMC to have such locations in check before it’s too late. Avoid irregularity, Avoid accidents.
