Mumbai: Of the nearly one lakh illegal construction complaints verified by BMC in the past decade, 29,916 cases were identified as requiring demolition, but action was completed in only 13,211 cases, according to an RTI reply received by activist Shakeel Ahmed Shaikh.According to the civic body’s RETMS portal data, over 2.1 lakh illegal construction complaints were registered between March 1, 2016, and Oct 26, 2026, of which nearly 1.2 lakh were duplicates, leaving 98,689 complaints. After verifying these 98,689 complaints, BMC identified 29,916 cases as requiring demolition.Across the city, L ward (Kurla) recorded the highest number of complaints, 30,935, but only 637 demolitions, while M-East ward (Mankhurd, Govandi) had 14,510 complaints and just 159 demolitions.Shaikh questioned BMC’s enforcement mechanism and demanded accountability of officials for delays in taking action against unauthorised structures. He also wrote to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis seeking expedited demolition in pending cases and disciplinary action against erring officials. “Tragic incidents, such as the hotel fires in Kamala Mills compound, Kurla’s Bhanu Farshan Mart fire, Hotel City Kinara fire in Kurla, Husaini Building collapse in Bhendi Bazaar and Sai Siddhi building collapse in Ghatkopar, have claimed several lives over the years, underlining the importance of timely action against illegal constructions,” he said.Civic officials, however, said demolition is a legal process involving verification, notices, hearings and, in some cases, court proceedings. “One needs to understand that the number of complaints received cannot be directly equated with the number of illegal structures requiring demolition, and often these could require appropriate independent verification,” a civic official said.
