Western Railway (WR) has successfully completed the demolition of nearly all hutments at the Garib Nagar slum adjacent to Bandra railway station in Mumbai. In a massive three-day drive, approximately 500 structures were removed, freeing up 5,200 square metres of land. This operation ranks among WR's largest recent encroachment-clearance exercises.
Massive Deployment for Operation
Over 1,200 personnel were deployed for the demolition, including teams from the Railway Protection Force, Government Railway Police, and other staff responsible for security, coordination, and on-ground execution. WR chief spokesperson Vineet Abhishek confirmed that structures marked for complete removal have been almost 100 percent demolished.
Court-Ordered Exceptions
Action on the remaining structures is being carried out strictly according to the Bombay High Court's directions. Under the court order, around 100 structures are not to be demolished. In such cases, wherever applicable, the ground floor is being retained and only the upper floors—from the first to the fourth—are being dismantled.
Officials stated that the upper-floor demolition is being done manually, with teams working overnight to ensure controlled dismantling and adherence to safety protocols so that no one is injured. Around 50 percent of this planned work has been completed, with the balance targeted by early Saturday.
Future Rehabilitation Plans
Sources indicated that the railways may approach the state government regarding rehabilitation for the 100 hutments that remain, to enable integrated development for suburban and long-distance operations under Mumbai's capacity augmentation plans at Bandra.
