Mhada plans to conduct survey in transit camps

Mumbai: In a bid to track the illegal residents in transit camps, the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) plans to carry out a biometric survey. A survey was conducted last in 2012.

The authority plans to redo the survey in the backdrop of rising housing projects and increasing number of project affected families.

Once the survey is completed, the illegal occupants might have to face legal action by the housing authority.

The Mhada has around 18,000 tenements in over 50 transit camps. A survey conducted in 2012 revealed that over 11,000 tenants were illegally residing in the rooms allotted for project-affected people.

“The last survey was conducted in 2012, and now we have decided to conduct a survey in order to weed out the illegal occupants,” said a senior Mhada official

The official added, “The plan is still on papers and once it is official and cleared by the top officials, the survey will commence.”

The largest transit camps under Mhada are located in areas such as Pratiksha Nagar in Sion, Mankhurd, Mandale and Dindoshi.

The families that have been displaced due to works such as road widening, pipeline expansion, bridge construction, etc. are transferred to such transit camps.

“Majority of the illegal claimants occupy the rooms using political pressure. While in some cases, the original tenants rent it to outsiders. We have plans to send legal notice to such parties,” added the official.

Currently, the Mhada has transit camps in Gorai, Manori, Worli and at N.M Joshi Marg in Lower Parel.

The tenants of BDD chawl owners will be shifted to these transit camps once the project begins.

The authority also plans to give around 350 tenements in Gorai to residents of Mahul on humanitarian grounds.