India, Oct. 2 -- On the day the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) was supposed to begin a special drive to demolish unauthorised slum structures measuring 14 feet and above, its own administration has denied announcing any such exercise, leaving the fate of the proposed demolition drive unclear. The drive, announced on September 19 as a three-month exercise from October 1 to December 31, was to target 39,111 structures across the city.

The crackdown is driven by structural and public safety concerns, following recent tragedies such as the Kurla landslide and the Mankhurd building collapse. However, on Thursday, as the proposed drive was set to begin, the administration appeared to distance itself from its own announcement. "There ...