BMC Clears 134 Footpaths Across Mumbai and Removes 94 Stalls in Bhandup
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has cleared encroachments from 134 footpaths across Mumbai over the past month, reclaiming nearly 197 kilometres of pedestrian walkways from illegal obstructions. As part of the citywide initiative, civic teams also removed 94 unauthorised stalls from footpaths outside Bhandup Railway Station (West) over a two-day operation to ease severe pedestrian and traffic congestion.
In Bhandup, the civic body identified 14 encroached footpaths for clearance, with enforcement operations actively underway on 11 of them. The removal of stalls around the railway station has restored an obstruction-free route for commuters travelling between the station and Lal Bahadur Shastri Marg, civic officials stated.
The Bhandup operation, led by the BMC's S Ward, involved five JCB machines, 10 dumpers, more than 50 civic officials and staff, 100 municipal workers, and over 70 police personnel. Alongside clearing footpaths, the S Ward is working to eliminate Garbage Vulnerable Points (GVPs) and warning against unauthorised construction, stalls, and material storage on pedestrian paths.
Under the first phase of the wider campaign spanning all 26 administrative wards, the BMC plans to clear encroachments from 200 footpaths. Civic teams have carried out enforcement actions across 1,459 locations to date.
Additionally, the civic administration is reviewing licensed civic and Aarey Dairy stalls that obstruct pedestrian paths. The BMC plans to relocate these vendors to designated sites or open plots and will coordinate with the Aarey administration regarding the city's 1,603 Aarey stalls, many of which occupy footpath space.
