BMC Razes Everard Slum, Dwellers Refuse to Shift to Mahul ‘Gas Chamber

In a swift operation, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has demolished Everard Nagar slum in Chunabhatti, leaving dozens of families on the brink of homelessness. The demolition comes after a legal battle initiated by the adjacent Everard Nagar Society, which has long decried the slum’s unauthorized encroachment on the service road that connect to key areas like Wadala, BKC, and the Eastern Expressway.

BMC officials, backed by the Traffic Police, assert that the demolition is essential to mitigate chronic traffic congestion, especially during peak office hours. However, the move has ignited fierce opposition from the displaced residents, who have called Everard Nagar home for generations. While authorities tout the clearance as necessary for easing the traffic woes, the human cost of the operation has been largely overlooked. The BMC has offered relocation options to most of the evicted families, proposing temporary housing in Mahul, an industrial area notorious for its hazardous pollution levels. Mahul has long been dubbed the “Gas Chamber” by locals due to its proximity to chemical plants and refineries, which have transformed the area into one of the most toxic environments in Mumbai.

Residents of Everard Nagar are outraged by the prospect of being moved to Mahul, where respiratory illnesses, skin infections, and water contamination are rampant. “We have no choice,” laments Meena, a mother of three and long-time resident of the slum. “They tell us to move to Mahul, but everyone knows it’s a death trap. People get sick there. They are asking us to trade one disaster for another.” Despite the government’s assurances that the relocation to Mahul is a temporary measure, many displaced residents express deep skepticism. The city’s track record with slum rehabilitation is far from exemplary, with promises of permanent housing frequently delayed or abandoned. Residents fear they will be forgotten, left to languish in Mahul’s toxic environment indefinitely, as has happened with countless others displaced from slums across Mumbai.

The scenes in Everard Nagar have been nothing short of tragic. Families scrambled to salvage what little they could from their homes as bulldozers rolled through, flattening decades of hard-earned shelter in minutes. “We’ve lived here for more than 20 years. This is our home, our lives are here,” says Krishna, another resident. “But they don’t care about that. They just want to get rid of us.” Environmentalists and public health experts have long condemned Mahul as an inhumane relocation site. Reports from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Mumbai show that air quality in Mahul routinely exceeds safe levels of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide—both linked to severe respiratory problems. Additionally, the area’s water supply is frequently contaminated with industrial waste, exacerbating the health crisis. Despite these glaring issues, Mahul continues to serve as the city’s go-to dumping ground for displaced families, a stark reminder of the cost of urban development borne by the most vulnerable.

“We are not against demolition, we all know that it was an illegal encroachment,” says Shirish Danger, a local community leader. “But this is not justice without offering an alternative. This is destroying lives in the name of relocating. Mahul is not a solution, it’s a death sentence.” As the dust settles over the now-leveled Everard Nagar, the future of its displaced residents is disturbingly uncertain. The lack of viable housing alternatives for those evicted has become a recurring theme in Mumbai’s urban planning failures. While the bulldozers may have cleared the roads, the deep scars left on the community remain, with many residents questioning whether this “progress” is worth the human toll.

The forced relocation to Mahul feels less like a solution and more like a condemnation, one that will continue to haunt the city’s marginalized for years to come. Until Mumbai addresses the systemic failings of its slum rehabilitation policies, the fight for dignified living conditions and human rights will persist, long after the bulldozers have left.