Following a month-long eviction drive between July 1 and July 31, the civic body has managed to recover over Rs 28.34 lakh through fines and auction of some goods. (File photo)
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has evicted nearly 24,894 hawkers and illegal food vendors from all 24 wards in the city and seized goods worth Rs 2.25 crore. Residents and activists, however, say the move’s effect would not last long and the hawkers would return.
Following a month-long eviction drive between July 1 and July 31, the civic body has managed to recover over Rs 28.34 lakh through fines and auction of some goods. The action was taken following orders by BMC commissioner Ajoy Mehta, an official confirmed.
According to Deputy Municipal Commissioner (encroachment) Ranjeet Dhakane, who led the operation, the team seized 1,150 handcarts, 841 cylinders, 62 table-stalls and 13 sugarcane juice extracting machines. The 24,894 hawkers who were evicted include 6,140 selling perishable items, 7,393 selling imperishable items and 9,215 illegal food vendors.
A civic official, Sharad Bande, said: “A total of 3,250 hawkers were evicted from G North ward, which comprises the Dadar-Mahim-Dharavi belt, followed by 1,654 in the A ward, which includes high-profile areas like Colaba, Nariman Point and Churchgate. A total of 1,560 hawkers were evicted from the K East ward, which includes areas like Andheri and Vile Parle.” Bande said the highest fine amount — Rs 2.56 lakh — was recovered from the H West ward (Bandra and Khar).
However activists claim that the civic body is not doing enough to get rid of illegal hawkers permanently. Matunga-based activist Nikhil Desai said: “Eviction drives are just an eyewash and not carried out with an intention to evict hawkers permanently. This has been happening for years. Within a week, hawkers come back.”
Another activist from Andheri said: “There are times when eviction drives have been carried out on Andheri station road and by the same evening, all the hawkers came back at their marked places. There is no permanent solution.”
Last year in October, the BMC had evicted around 1.12 lakh hawkers and illegal food vendors from across 24 wards and goods worth Rs 30 crore had been seized, along with recovery of Rs 2.03 crore fine.
