21 May,2026 09:05 AM IST | Mumbai | The Editorial
Representation pic
Garib Nagar is in focus as a massive demolition drive at Bandra East continues. Our front page report stated how the Western Railway (WR) has drawn up a plan to fence and secure approximately 5300 sq m of land in the area at the end of the five-day razing period.
A WR spokesperson said the idea is to convert the place into an integrated station complex, build related infra and shift maintenance facilities. The latest orders of the Bombay High Court, dated April 29, subsequently upheld in further proceedings as well as before the Supreme Court, have permitted the removal of unauthorised encroachments, while protecting identified eligible structures.
While removal of encroachments is important, it is as important to question and see why and how these encroachments were allowed to take root in the first place. It is shocking that there has been so much encroachment and illegality with little effort to snuff it out, just as it started or ensure that this does not happen at all. The fact that this has existed for years with no action or some token action shows how corruption has seeped into our system and percolated to the roots.
This edit space had earlier flagged the growing menace at Bandra East with pictures showing large-scale illegalities and slums extending vertically, resembling small buildings with one, two and three-floor extensions. The entire area was a haphazard mess, especially for commuters. The rot means this was allowed to happen, and mushroom and today, we need a huge operation to weed this out.
