Campa Cola residents knock Prez door; seek legitimate FSI for flats from CM

As the face-off over eviction of Campa Cola society residents stretched into the third day, the residents petitioned President Pranab Mukherjee seeking his intervention to stay the demolition of the illegal flats.

"We have written to the President and have humbly stated the ways in which the illegal flats can be regularised. We have also requested him to pardon our society as a lot of senior citizens staying here have nowhere else to go," Ankit Garg, a resident, said today.

However, reacting to the residents' filing a petition with the President, Deputy Municipal Commissioner Anand Waghralkar said they have received no intimation from the President's office to halt the eviction process and that the MCGM will continue with its work.

"We have received absolutely no orders from the President's office to halt the eviction process. The residents are only trying to buy more time, which we will not allow any more," he said.

So far, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) authorities have not used any force to evict the residents and are only trying to convince them to vacate the flats so that demolition can begin.

However, Waghralkar said they would not hesitate to use force if they are not allowed to enter the complex to cut water and power supply to the illegal flats.

"The residents are opposing our move to enter the premises for the third straight day. We will not give them any more time. They have crossed all limits. We will now not hesitate to use force against them if they do not allow us to enter the complex," he said.

MCGM officials continued to face stiff resistance from the residents throughout the day. Two women fell unconscious during the protest and had to be taken to hospital.

Meanwhile, MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar told PTI that he along with BJP leader Shaina NC and the residents met Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan this afternoon and said they (residents) are not against the court order of demolition of illegal flats, but have proposed that the Campa Cola compound should get its "legitimate FSI".

Floor Space Index (FSI) is the ratio between the built up area allowed and plot area available.