Mumbai: After bringing down more than 300 illegal banners and hoardings, the Panvel City Municipal Corporation has now taken action against encroachments by hawkers, shop owners and hoteliers.
The civic body carried out a massive drive to evacuate encroachers and clear footpaths for public use on June 10 and 11. Around 150 personnel and 10 vehicles were deployed for the drive. The drive was conducted by the anti-encroachment cell and was monitored by Municipal Commissioner Dr. Sudhakar Shinde.
Dr, Shinde told The Hindu , “We had instructed the shop owners and hoteliers to keep their business within the limit of their premises only. However, despite the warning, they did not follow the rules. Thus, we carried out a drive during the weekend and we cleared all footpaths that were encroached upon in Kamothe, Kharghar, Kalamboli, old Panvel, and New Panvel areas.”
He said civic officials collected an anti-encroachment fee from shopkeepers and hoteliers, while no fees were levied on hawkers, who were only moved to the designated zones. “The drive was held from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. We collected a total ₹3 lakh as anti-encroachment fees from the hoteliers and shop owners. The hawkers were moved to specified hawker zones earmarked by the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) in the respective nodes,” the municipal commissioner said.
