Who cares about Mumbaikars!

In early July, the state government announced a ban on feeding pigeons. Within a month, after uproar from a certain community, its stance changed. File Pic/Satej Shinde

Mumbai is often referred to as the city of dreams, money, and energy or simply Maximum City. However, as it fails to provide citizens with basic needs such as walkable footpaths, clean air, civic amenities, healthcare, safety, and space, the service and dignity of the city remain at a Bare Minimum. For netas, vote bank politics comes first, and Mumbaikars' concerns are always pushed to the back-burner.

Take the latest controversy of pigeon feeding. In the first week of July, the state government announced a ban on feeding pigeons. Within a month, after uproar from a certain community, its stance changed. Many in political corridors call it appeasement politics towards certain religious groups, as they strongly back a particular political party.

Doctors and experts have warned of health risks posed by large gatherings of pigeons, and the Bombay High Court, too, is unwilling to quash the civic body's ban on feeding pigeons in public places, as studies and research suggest that pigeon droppings lead to respiratory illnesses. Yet, political leaders from the ruling coalition in Maharashtra, instead of taking a firm stand, are now scrambling to find an amicable solution to the issue.

The entire controversy surrounding "rats of the sky", as pigeons are generally referred to, makes a good case for how vote bank calculations (religious sentiments) get preference over the well-being of thousands of citizens residing near pigeon feeding spots.

But such stories are not new. A similar script was written for the ban on plaster of Paris (PoP) Ganesh idols. In this case, the environmental risk took a backseat to religious sentiment.

PoP idols were initially banned owing to their harmful impact on water bodies, as the material does not dissolve easily and releases toxic chemicals into the water. But, following several rounds of meetings between the government, idol makers and Ganpati mandals, the ban was relaxed with certain conditions.

Appeasement politics is not limited to religious sentiment; it plays out in Mumbai's everyday chaos. For instance, a longstanding civic nuisance that affects almost every Mumbaikar is the unchecked rise of unauthorised hawkers encroaching footpaths and forcing pedestrians to walk on the roads, creating safety hazards and adding to problems for motorists and public transport, who are already under stress navigating congested roads.

According to reports, the Bombay High Court, too, has come down heavily on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and has stated that hawkers have virtually taken over the streets.

Despite strictures from the court, little has changed on the ground. As per a media report published in 2024, Mumbai has 10,360 licensed and 22,027 surveyed hawkers. But the hawker union estimates the actual number exceeds 3 lakh.

The mismatch between the numbers is nothing but a clear indicator of rampant encroachment. If political leaders - be it in the ruling dispensation or from the Opposition camp - really pushed the BMC, footpaths could be cleared in days. But what is lacking is the political will, the reason: vote bank mathematics. With hawkers, organised under unions and headed by political parties, their netas come into play, and no party wants to alienate this sizeable voter base.

In 2024, it was reported that the BMC took action against 3.37 lakh hawkers (between 2023 and 2024), collecting R5.14 crore in fines. But most return to business as usual within days. The message is clear: mere action is not enough; it is time to go beyond fines and impose strict enforcement like higher penalties and jail terms for repeat offenders.

The irony is that the same logic extends to the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) scheme. Introduced in 1995, as (SRD) by the Shiv Sena-BJP saffron alliance government, the scheme initially offered free housing to slum dwellers settled before January 1, 1995.

But, in a one-upmanship race, successive Congress-Nationalist Congress Party governments kept extending the cut-off date. The ruling government at the time extended the cut-off date to 2000. Later, it was extended to 2011, and now some leaders and parties are pushing for 2015, and a few are even asking for 2022 as the new eligibility date.

The politics did not stop over the extension of the eligibility date. With each passing election, the flat sizes were increased. In 1995, it was a 180 square feet flat to be given under the SRD scheme. Later, the scheme name was changed to SRA, and the flat size was increased to 225 square feet. It was further increased to 269 square feet, and now, finally, 300-square-foot flats are given to slum dwellers.

Now, with elections round the corner, some parties have started making claims that they will push for 500 square feet flats under the SRA scheme, if voted to power.

In fact, the Supreme Court too had called for a performance audit of the Maharashtra Slum Areas Act. Ideally, the slum population should have declined with the introduction of the SRA, but instead, it is seen rising as the scheme has incentivised and encouraged illegal settlements.

The pattern is clear, whether it is hawkers, slum dwellers, PoP, or the latest - feeding pigeons, vote bank ‘rajneeti' continues to get preference over public interest.

It is high time the government and political parties exhibit courage and shift priority from appeasement of voters to Mumbaikars first. If not, citizens will continue to suffer and Mumbai will remain a city with maximum spirit, but with minimum dignity, no matter which political party and which leader is ruling the state and BMC.

Sanjeev Shivadekar is political editor, mid-day. He tweets @SanjeevShivadek
Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com
The views expressed in this column are the individual's and don't represent those of the paper.