After initially denying a goof-up that took place while allotting homes to the project-affected people (PAPs) of the 16-km-long Eastern Freeway project, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has blamed two engineers from the public works department (PWD) who were on deputation with the authority. They said the duo had decided eligibility criteria of the PAPs without taking consent from senior MMRDA officials.
The authority claims it has proposed to take action against PWD engineers Pramod Pawar and Vivek Kamble of the PWD.
The MMRDA, between 2006-2008, had carried out a survey of slums that were getting affected due to the construction of the freeway. However, the MMRDA claims that though there is a goof-up, the original number of tenements yet to be given is not 2,000. The construction of freeway was done by the PWD, which had also conducted a survey through a private agency and the survey identified a total of 7,434 structures to make way for the construction of the freeway, according to proposed alignment of the PWD back in the year 1995.
However, MMRDA now claims another survey conducted in 2004 said 5,079 structures were getting affected due to the freeway. Out of these, MMRDA claims to have rehabilitated around 4,307 structures.
The Asian Age had, on April 20, 2016, reported about how 2,200 project-affected families have alleged that they have not received homes in exchange for the structures they gave up to make way for the freeway, which the MMRDA then denied.
“The project was being carried out by the PWD previously and after the MMRDA was assigned the construction of the freeway it recruited the same engineers from the PWD who were later removed for deciding the eligibility of tenements without consulting senior MMRDA officials,” said a senior MMRDA official, demanding anonymity.
The MMRDA, which was under pressure from chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, had formed a committee to look after the issue of identifying the number of families that were yet to get homes and the authority claims once the report is out, it would be in the position to say how many were yet to receive homes. “We have started the process to identifying the eligibility of every tenement and we expect the report to be ready in another three months,” the MMRDA official added.
However, the project affected-families feel that MMRDA officials are just buying time. “The MMRDA is manipulating the chief minister on the issue and we do not think that officials are going to come out with the correct figure of the tenements it is yet to rehabilitate,” said Motiram Kharat, a project-affected person.
Meanwhile, both Mr Pawar and Mr Kamble, the engineers from the PWD, were unavailable for the comment.
