BMC identified nearly 30,000 illegal structure complaints for demolition in 10 years, but took action in only 13,211 cases, finds RTI reply to Mumbai activist

Mumbai: Of the nearly one lakh illegal construction complaints verified by BMC in the past decade, 29,916 cases were identified as requiring demolition, but action was completed in only 13,211 cases, according to an RTI reply received by activist Shakeel Ahmed Shaikh.

According to the civic body’s RETMS portal data, over 2.1 lakh illegal construction complaints were registered between March 1, 2016, and Oct 26, 2026, of which nearly 1.2 lakh were duplicates, leaving 98,689 complaints. After verifying these 98,689 complaints, BMC identified 29,916 cases as requiring demolition.

Across the city, L ward (Kurla) recorded the highest number of complaints, 30,935, but only 637 demolitions, while M-East ward (Mankhurd, Govandi) had 14,510 complaints and just 159 demolitions.

Shaikh questioned BMC’s enforcement mechanism and demanded accountability of officials for delays in taking action against unauthorised structures. He also wrote to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis seeking expedited demolition in pending cases and disciplinary action against erring officials.