BMC moves to demolish 87-year-old’s Vidyavihar home amid legal dispute

Catherine Dominic Gomes

Where should I go if they demolish my entire house tomorrow?" asked 87-year-old Catherine Dominic Gomes, a resident of Vidyavihar, whose residence was partially demolished, along with a compound wall, by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) N ward, ostensibly as part of road-widening work, on April 18.

While the civic body has been notices seeking the demolition of the house to facilitate the construction of the Vidyavihar East-West connector, Gomes had filed a court case against the order. "The civil court issued a stay order on the BMC notice on November 28, 2018, but the ward office keeps sending notices, and now they have actually gone ahead and started demolishing the house, probably to threaten us," said Cecilia Noel DSouza, 58, Gomes's only child.

‘What's the true reason?'

The octogenarian alleged that ward officials have been citing different reasons each time they tried to reason with them. "First, they said they needed to increase the size of the road to accommodate increasing traffic.

The house where Catherine Dominic Gomes resides in Vidyavihar. Pics/Ritika Gondhalekar

Then they said they needed to widen it to construct a flyover. This was followed by gutter work, which they started abruptly, stating they needed to demolish the house to lay the gutter. Then the officials were transferred, and their replacements again stated it was for the flyover. Even they don't know what they need our land for," said Gomes. mid-day reached out to the N ward for a comment, but did not receive a response by press time.

Loss of income

Documents put up by the family that prove the house is gaothan property. A civil court had stayed BMC's notices on the basis of these papers

Several shops adjoining the house have already been demolished, leading to a loss of income for Gomes. "A paan shop, chickpea shop, bakery, salon and mill have already been demolished. We had given that space on rent to these shopkeepers in 1986 after losing our agricultural land for government-backed development projects. This was the only income that I had after my husband died several years ago," said Gomes.

Norms flouted?

Catherine Dominic Gomes (right)and her daughter Cecilia Noel DSouza (left). Pics/Ritika Gondhalekar

Shedding light on the issue, activist Denis D'Souza told mid-day, "As per the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, it is mandatory to provide alternative housing, with 10 per cent extra space compared to the existing house, within one kilometre to those whose houses need to be demolished for development work within a gaothan. In this case, BMC officials first stated that this house was a slum dwelling. But the Gomes family had the sanad documents, proving otherwise. Based on them, a civil court issued the stay order, which is still active. Verbally, ward officials have said that they would give the family a house. But no paperwork or anything concrete has been done."

April 18
Day demolition took place