Ahead of 2026 polls, civic body turns to outside help to free Andheri West footpaths and upgrade pedestrian spaces; the civic body, with assistance from Mumbai Police, has carried out multiple drives to evict hawkers from footpaths in Andheri
Hawkers cleared outside Andheri West station. Pic/Satej Shinde
Ahead of the civic elections scheduled for early 2026, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has begun roping in non-governmental organisations to deploy labour and evict unauthorised hawkers from Andheri’s streets. In addition, the civic body has floated at least four tenders in the past week aimed at improving pedestrian experience in the K West ward, which includes Andheri. The tenders focus on upgrading footpaths, street furniture and road conditions, and identifying ways to make walkways safer and more accessible.
NGOs and self-help groups have previously been employed by the BMC to manage parking lots and clear garbage in slum and semi-residential pockets across Kurla, Andheri, Chembur and Govandi. Over the past week, the civic body, with assistance from Mumbai Police, has carried out multiple drives to evict hawkers from footpaths in Andheri.
On Monday, the BMC issued a public notice announcing that it is seeking NGOs to “take eviction action against unauthorised hawkers.” The contract period will run for three months, from December 2025 to February 2026. Fifteen personnel from organisations such as local NGOs, worker cooperatives, service cooperatives, unemployed services cooperatives, and industrial service cooperatives registered with the charity commissioner, or the BMC itself, will be deployed across Andheri. Their role will be to act against unlicensed hawkers encroaching on footpaths, cooking food in the open, setting up makeshift stalls and blocking pedestrian movement.
To improve walkability, the civic body has also planned the remodelling and upgradation of existing footpaths to make them more pedestrian-friendly. Earlier this week, the ward office floated two tenders to appoint third-party agencies to inspect roads in the K West ward and recommend measures to improve their condition. A senior civic official said, “This exercise is taken up ahead of planning infrastructure or road resurfacing works. It helps us understand the current condition and shortlist the works that need to be undertaken.”
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