As civic ward staffers were manhandled, the BMC also lodged a complaint at Vile Parle police station.

MUMBAI: Overcoming stiff resistance from a building’s owners, the BMC brought down an illegal structure of 10,000sqft floor area in Andheri in 12 hours on Thursday. As civic ward staffers were manhandled, the BMC also lodged a complaint at Vile Parle police station .

The structure was a newlyconstructed hotel with 30 rooms near the international terminal of the airport on Sahar Road. It started coming up last November, following which the BMC and the MMRDA got into a dispute over the area’s jurisdiction and over whose responsibility should it be to take action. Four days ago, the MMRDA informed the BMC that the structure did not come under its jurisdiction and so the BMC was free to act, said a civic official.

Immediately, a stop-work notice was issued to the builder under the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act and officials from K-east ward , where the structure was located, filed a caveat in the civil court.

Civic officials said they faced stiff resistance when they went to put up the notice and were subjected to violence when later they went to demolish the structure. The local mukkadam and the officer designated for the job were manhandled.

On Thursday morning, ward staff attempted to demolish the structure without police protection, but bouncers were brought to the site, who barred access to the building. Around noon, civic staff once again went there, again to find the gates closed. They even attempted to enter through a gap below a gate, but the bouncers quickly barricaded the opening with sand bags. Ultimately, police protection was sought and demolition began late on Thursday night. By Friday morning, the entire structure had been brought down.

