Thane: In a decisive move against rampant illegal construction, municipal commissioner and administrator Saurabh Rao has ordered the formation of a special task force to tackle unauthorised buildings, particularly in the suburbs of Diva and Mumbra—areas that recently recorded the highest volume of such activity.The crackdown comes in the wake of sharp observations made by Bombay high court during a mid-June hearing of a land grab case by the mafia in Shil area. A subsequent civic assessment revealed nearly 40% of all unauthorised structures in Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) limits were concentrated in these two wards alone.“The ongoing survey identified 151 illegal structures across nine municipal wards—with Diva topping the list at 40, followed by Mumbra with 20,” said a civic official. Rao has instructed the newly formed task force to maintain constant vigilance in these high-risk zones and recommend prompt action against ongoing or planned illegal constructions. He clarified that while demolition drives will continue, occupied structures will be temporarily spared until the conclusion of the Ganesh festival. However, structures still under construction will face immediate action. “So far, we’ve taken action against 227 illegal buildings and filed 24 criminal cases against those responsible,” Rao said.The anti-encroachment department, led by Shankar Patole, will spearhead the enforcement, with each ward contributing deputy municipal commissioners and junior officials to the task force. The team is expected to begin on-ground action after the festival, given the need for adequate police presence to manage potential resistance from residents.Meanwhile, activists and political leaders are demanding that accountability be extended to civic officials allegedly complicit in enabling these constructions. Local politicians claim that a nexus between certain municipal staff and land mafia allows such buildings to come up with little resistance. In many cases, residents are reportedly allowed to move into lower floors of illegal buildings even as upper floors are still under construction—a tactic aimed at stalling demolition drives. “It seemed like a ploy to delay any action, and it worked for a while,” said a resident of one of the illegal buildings in Shil that was razed in June following high court orders. Senior leaders, including NCP (SP) national spokesperson and MLA Jitendra Awhad and Congress Thane president Vikrant Chavan, have repeatedly called for action not just against builders but also against civic officials who allegedly turned a blind eye to the problem.
