Unmindful of the imminent prospect of the demolition of 35 illegal floors spread across seven buildings in their complex, the residents of Campa Cola compound dug in their heels and refused to vacate their flats, even after a deadline set by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for handing over the keys of their apartments to the civic body ended on Thursday evening.
As the deadline of 5 pm to hand over the keys of their flats to the BMC’s G-south ward office passed, the residents of illegal flats in the Campa Cola compound not only chose to remain defiant of a Supreme Court order, but they also made it known that they would not hand not vacate their flats without a fight.
like they have done in times of similar crises in the past, the residents erected a pandal inside the Campa Cola compound for an impending sit-in agitation and prepared themselves to resist attempts by the BMC to evict themselves physically before undertaking the demolition of their 102 illegal flats.
On June 3, the Supreme Court had rejected a review petition filed by the Campa Cola Cola residents, who had sought a stay over demolition on “humanitarian” grounds till the apex court decided the curative petition. Stating that every case that comes to court has a humanitarian issue, the apex court refused to grant a stay and directed the BMC to proceed with the due process of eviction followed by demolition.
Unlike in November last year when the Supreme Court intervened at the last minute and stayed the demolition of 35 illegal floors in their controversial housing complex, the residents can ill-afford to expect any miracle to happen in the coming days. All the same, the BMC — which is treading cautiously this time around — is likely to serve one more notice to the residents on Friday under Section 488 of the BMC act, a provision that allows the civic body to enter any premises with its personnel for forcible eviction if its orders are defied.
Through a weird argument, the beleaguered residents sought to resist the forcible eviction by the BMC. In the first of the 14-point charter of demands they submitted to BMC Commissioner Sitaram Kunte, the residents stated that before they handed over their keys of their flats to the civic body, they needed a written and registered sworn affidavit from the Chief Minister and the civic body chief stating that all illegal construction in the city would be demolished and nothing would be regularised by nefarious means.
“Our second demand is that no law or ordinance will be passed by the present or future Government to regularise any illegal construction and if this is violated, the incumbent Minister or official would be be tried in a fast track court,” activist-resident Rajesh Kumar Varma said, alluding to the Vilasrao Deshmukh Government’s move in 2006 to regularise 855 illegal constructions in Ulhasnagar township in Thane through an ordinance to the effect.
The seven buildings on the Campa Cola compound premises, where 35 illegal floors were to be demolished by the civic authorities, are: Esha Apartments Cooperative Housing Society, Patel Apartments Cooperative Housing Society, Orchid Cooperative Housing Society, BY Apartments Cooperative Housi-ng Society, Midtown Apartments Cooperative Housing Society and Shubh Apartment Cooperative Housing Society.
These seven buildings were constructed between 1981 and 1989 on a plot of land leased to Pure Drinks in 1955. The BMC had only granted the builders permission to construct only up to five floors. However, the developers raised Orchid building to 17 floors, Midtown to 20 floors, Esha Ekta to eight floors, BY and Patel Apartments to six floors, and Shubh Apartments to seven floors.