Chairing a meeting with the locals on Tuesday, after having visited the gaothan areas in Pali village, Bandra, Raul said that builders are being favoured by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. “The new buildings are leaving as little as 2 feet open space in the building premises and are very close to each other. There seems be a clear violation,” she said. Raul also complained that the new constructions are putting a burden on infrastructure and is resulting in haphazard development in gaothan areas.

Few months back, the mayor had demanded blanket 4 FSI for development of gaothan areas. But after visiting the Pali village she changed her views. “This gaothan is very beautiful and the old bungalows are very charming. I had demanded additional FSI after looking at the condition of a gaothan in Dahisar. But now I feel that there should be different rules for different gaothans,” she said.

Complaining about the high-rises, Neil Pereira, a local who was present at the meeting, said, “The roads are very narrow yet tall buildings are coming up. In case of emergency, sometimes even an ambulance can not enter.”

H/West ward citizens trust member Vidya Vaidya said that because of new construction bungalows are facing the problem of ventilation. Raul has assured that such constructions will be checked soon. “I will visit the area again with Municipal Commissioner Jairaj Phatak,” she said.