The authorities need to stop fooling the public

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Mumbai's chronic bugbear - encroachment­ - has reared its ugly head again through extensive reports in our paper about hutment dwellers extending shanties from the shore right into the sea, ‘reclaiming' land in this illegal way with total impunity. Complaints have not evinced too much response. Even this paper had those in charge eluding response, so one can guess the frustration of locals there or how they ran into a wall even when they complain about the encroachment.

We see a steady takeover everywhere, on our roads and even in the sea. The shanties are first built extremely close to the shoreline. They then start extending. Like we see on land, the occupants start moving further inwards. The height of the hutments has also increased, going up two-three floors. Many of these dwellers have more space than regular flat owners. They are also obdurate and unapologetic about being illegal, asking where else could they go to get homes. There is a sense of unabashed entitlement and fearless flouting of the law in this attitude, evident through their answers to reporters who researched this for the reports in this paper.

Moreover, residents claimed that they have filed hundreds of plaints but there has been no effect. This brings us to the aspect of slum mafias.

It takes an extraordinary deal of courage to speak out against these illegal dwellings as the ‘mafia' is not a figment of anyone's imagination. It does exist and locals, living in the vicinity with their families, have well-founded fears of reprisal. It is shocking that it takes ordinary people to first point out that this is happening, it is the officers who need to see what is going on. Then, they have to pressure people for a response, which should not be the case. Do not turn a convenient blind eye to what you already know is happening, authorities.