Mumbai civic body’s decision to demolish illegal structures and encroachments 14 feet or taller triggered fresh friction between the civic administration and elected representatives, with corporators across party lines alleging they were not consulted before the drive was announced.

During a standing committee meeting on Wednesday, corporators objected to the proposed action, urging the administration to roll it back as they questioned the basis on which structures were being shortlisted for demolition.

The latest confrontation comes days after a BJP corporator wrote to civic chief Ashwini Bhide, alleging that elected representatives were not consulted during the implementation of the BMC’s “pedestrian first” policy, under which footpaths were being reclaimed by removing illegal encroachments.

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“Everyone who lives in these 14-feet houses belongs to marginalised communities and has been living here for decades. Many members from the indigenous East Indian Community (Gaothan) also stay in these houses. On what basis are the structures that are going to be demolished being shortlisted? Is it not unfair to the people staying in these shanties for so many decades if their houses are razed overnight,” Yashodhar Phanse, senior Shiv Sena (UBT) corporator and member of the civic body’s standing committee, said.

Phanse raised a point of order during the meeting.

“The group leaders from the political parties were not at all consulted before coming up with this contentious proposal. We only came to know about this proposal after it was reported in the media and being people’s representatives, we (corporators) should have been consulted,” Ashraf Azmi, senior Congress corporator and leader of the party in the BMC, said.

The objections also come days after BJP corporator and leader of the House in BMC, Ganesh Khankar, wrote to Bhide seeking a rollback of the plan.

In his letter, Khankar highlighted the socioeconomic impact of the proposed demolition drive, stating that nearly 40 per cent of Mumbai’s population resides in slum pockets. He said administrative notices issued had already triggered panic and an “atmosphere of fear” among residents of the affected structures.

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On September 19, the BMC announced an intensive three-month drive against 39,111 unauthorised housing structures in Mumbai’s slums, beginning October 1.

The announcement followed two fatal incidents involving illegal structures.