3 minutes of readingBombayFebruary 2, 2026 22:26 IST
The BRIHANMUMBAI Municipal Corporation on Monday said police complaints, including an FIR, will be lodged against owners of illegally parked vehicles that may act as obstruction to the conduct of firefighting operations in Mumbai.
Issuing a statement on Monday, civic authorities said illegally parked vehicles are often found blocking fire trucks, causing delays in response time.
“If fire and rescue operations are hampered due to unauthorized parking, an FIR will be registered directly against the owners of the affected vehicles,” the BMC statement said.
Currently, BMC operates 26 off-street parking lots, which include parking lots at public and private institutions run by authorities. In addition to this, the civic body has more than 350 street parking spaces in Bombay meaning vehicles can park in and around the periphery of traffic islands, lanes and minor roads in Mumbai. However, these facilities are largely inadequate, so people often park their vehicles on the sides of the roads, blocking traffic and pedestrian movement.
Mumbai has the highest vehicle density among metropolitan cities. According to state government data, Mumbai has a vehicle density of 2,300 cars per kilometer, the highest among all metropolitan cities. Government data also shows that the number has increased exponentially in previous years. In 2019, the city’s vehicle density was 1,840 per km, while in 2014 it was 1,150 per km.
In stark contrast, Mumbai has a road length of 2,050 km, which is the lowest among metropolitan cities, as in comparison Delhi It has a road network of 33,000 km, Bengaluru It has a network of 12,800 km, Calcutta 4,018 kilometers and Chennai 2,780 kilometers.
Apart from this, Regional Transport Office (RTO) data shows that 3.02 lakh vehicles were registered in Mumbai in 2025 alone. By early 2024, nearly 2.79 lakh vehicles were registered.
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“As vehicles are illegally parked on the roadside strips, fire engines cannot approach the building or institution where the fire occurred. In firefighting, even a one-minute delay in response can lead to loss of life,” an official said.
Civic officials said whenever the civic authorities find such an issue, they will register a complaint with the local police providing the details of the vehicle, following which the authorities will take action.
BMC removes illegal hawkers from Mohamed Ali Marg and Ibrahim Merchant Marg
On Monday morning, civic authorities demolished seven illegal shops along with two illegally parked two-wheelers, 12 iron bars and 10 bollards on South Mumbai’s Mohamed Ali Street. The eviction drive was carried out by officials as part of their ongoing campaign against illegal encroachments and street vendors. Last week, the BMC had expelled illegal hawkers from Irla area in Andheri.
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Civic officials maintained that a total of two JCBs were deployed to remove illegal entities and all violators were issued notices before BMC initiated action.