SRA unable to get biometric details of deonar locals

Mumbai: The Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) has not been able to do even a single biometric survey at the Deonar area in the M/West ward of the city. According to a private agency’s survey data, there are around 100 slum clusters in the area. Regular interference of political parties and local opposition is stalling the survey process, claimed authorities. The SRA aims to free the state from slums by 2022. However, since the past one year, Deonar has been up in arms, reveals the agency.

“The survey is respondent-based and it will proceed only if the residents cooperate well and respond positively. To complete the survey, we require government documents from the slum dwellers. However, in Deonar, apart from opposition from the local residents, we face opposition from local leaders as well. We have also tried surveying the space with police protection but the hostility has made it difficult for us to complete the survey over there, said an official in-charge of the biometric survey.

According to the estimates of the authority, there are around 20,000 hutments in the Chembur area, which includes Deonar. “In Deonar, we were able to count the hutments till 300 before we were stopped by the locals,” the official added.

The agency appointed by the SRA had distributed pamphlets and conducted meetings with the locals in order to gain their trust and proceed with the survey; however, nothing has positively impacted the locals so far.

Incomplete survey

The Asian Age had reported on December 14, that the SRA has only completed 40 per cent of the slum survey in the city. Of the 7 lakh slums in the city, survey of around 2 lakh has been completed so far.