Won't move to Mahul, say slum dwellers

Mumbai: The slum dwellers in N-ward have cried foul over Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) decision to allocate alternate accommodation in Mahul after the civic body removed encroachments near Tansa pipeline. Despite assurances that it will be provide accommodation in a nearby area, the civic body has backtracked on its promise, the slum dwellers have alleged.

Acting on the high court’s directives, the civic body has started demolition of encroachments near Tansa pipeline in Ghatkopar and Vidyavihar. However, project affected persons (PAPs) have resisted the move, saying that they would not shift to other areas due to lack of facilities and want alternate accommodation in nearby area like Kurla.

National Congress Party (NCP) corporator Rakhi Jadhav said, “Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had promised that all PAPs would be given tenements in Kurla. The 400 people were even handed over the tenements before the BMC elections. But now polls are over; the BJP has backtracked on its promise. The other 1450 PAPs have been asked to shift to Mahul, which is not convenient for them.”

The BMC in 2009 had received flak from the Bombay high court for its failure to protect the water pipelines from slum encroachments. Hearing a public interest litigation, the high court had asked the civic body to remove encroachments around pipelines, saying they are posing a threat to security and also causing water contamination.

The hydraulic department, in a survey, had identified a total of 15,743 structures along the pipelines with as many as 6,573 built before 1995.

For the rehabilitation of PAPs, the BMC had sought tenements from the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA). The SRA has handed over 10,000 tenements constructed by Housing Development and Infrastructure Limited (HDIL) at Premier Factory plot in Kurla West.