As all doors get seemingly shut for their regularisation, the demolition of the 885 unauthorised buildings in Ulhasnagar would finally begin on Friday, a top official of the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC) said on Thursday. Laxmi Niwas will be the first to be razed. Its residents vacated the building after the demolition order.
The demolition, said to be the biggest in Indian history and affecting nearly one lakh people, will be undertaken as per the guidelines laid down by the Bombay High Court in its order earlier this year.
Ulhasnagar citizens, the municipal government and local legislator Suresh ‘Pappu’ Kalani had been running from the state government to the judiciary, trying to stop the demolition. The state government made a last-ditch attempt by proposing an Ordinance to regularise the buildings on payment of a penalty fee.
In fact, the state Cabinet was supposed to have taken up the Ordinance in its meeting on Thursday. But it introduced last-minute changes in the agenda, an official of the UMC told the DNA on Thursday. The Cabinet may now consider the Ordinance at its next weekly meeting. However, by then, the bulldozers would have rolled over the buildings.
Local officials fear attack by angry residents on demolition crews and police officers accompanying them. A big crowd had gathered outside the UMC office on Thursday, but most officials had left for the day.
Meanwhile, Thane Police Commissioner D Sivanandan assured ‘adequate’ police cover for the demolition drive.
CM stands his ground: "When these refugees came to India, there were no legal restrictions and development control rules. Therefore it will be unfair to put the entire blame on bureaucracy," said CM Vilasrao Deshmukh. He accepted that officers accused of corruption in the Nandlal Committee report were still working in the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation.
