Only 40 per cent slum survey done

Mumbai: The Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) has managed to complete only 40 per cent of the bio-metric survey of the slum dwellers in the city, a year after it began. The survey that started in 2016 has covered around two lakh slum dwellers of the city so far, out of the five lakh. The data is gathered by the authority to detect the eligible slum dwellers to rehabilitate them. The government aims to make the state slum-free by 2022 by providing housing to all.

According to officials, the survey of all slum clusters in the island city has been completed. “There are overall around seven lakh slum dwellers in the city, but we are excluding the ones which are on the CRZ or central government land,” said a senior SRA official.

The process has slowed down due to the opposition faced by the officials on the ground by the slum dwellers. “Whenever our men go for a survey either politicians or NGO groups stall the process and sent back the survey team. This has led to a lot of delays,” said a spokesperson from the survey agency.

The door-to-door survey was started in February 2016 and was supposed to be completed within a year, however, still around three lakh slum dwellers are pending to be surveyed. The survey team knocks on every door and numbers the slums by painting it, and conducts a biometric survey of each family member.  

“The team which goes on the ground sometimes faces stern opposition from the slum dwellers. Sometimes people own more than one hutments, and we give a benefit for only one hutment. Thus people oppose and do not cooperate for the survey,” said the official. The authorities believe eligibility of the slum dwellers will be noted during the survey and this will be helpful for speedy implementation of SRA schemes.

The survey was supposed to cover both Mumbai and Thane region. However, only in November this year; the work order was given by the authority to start the survey in Thane. “Last month, we sanctioned the order to start the survey in Thane region,” added the official. However, at the current pace, the authorities may take more time to complete the survey.

Biometric survey data will be made online. The citizens can use the special ID given to them after the survey to check the progress of rehabilitation of that particular area. Currently, the data of survey is only available for SRA officials.

• In 1991, cut-off for protection of slums was fixed at 1985.
• It was brought up to January 1, 1995 by Shiv Sena’s Manor Joshi-led government.
• In March 2014, the government wanted to make it January 1, 2001, but the SC did not allow it.
• Around 52-55 lakh  live in 14-15 major slum pockets in Mumbai, covering 9 per cent geographical area.
• More than 80,000 hutments exist in the area surrounding the airport.
• More than 3 lakh huts are there in the forest area of SGNP.
• The HC has ordered the removal of 5,565 hutments along the Tansa pipeline in the city.
• 1,513 SRA schemes are ongoing, under which 4.41 lakh homes will be constructed.