Dharavi rehabilitation: Kurla land survey on July 26

The plot that was once used by Mother Dairy at Nehru Nagar in Kurla East. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

The state government's land records department has decided to survey dairy land at Nehru Nagar in Kurla East on July 26. Residents, who have been protesting against the proposed rehabilitation of Dharavi locals at the site, have decided to raise black flags on the day officials arrive for the survey.

The department will carry out the survey on the Dharavi Redevelopment Authority's (DRA) recommendation. The 21-acre plot was once used by Mother Dairy, and residents have been trying to get the spot reserved for a garden and recreation ground.

The plot that was once used by Mother Dairy in at Nehru Nagar in Kurla East on July 23. Pics/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

In a letter to the DRA, the land records department mentions that the survey has been planned for July 26. The letter, a copy of which is with mid-day terms this very urgent work. The department also sent a letter to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) and Railway authorities to present on the day of the survey as these authorities own adjoining land.

Department officials told mid-day confirmed the letter. "This is routine work as per the suggestion of the DRA and government. If it rains on July 26, a survey will be conducted on another day," said an official. BMC officials also claimed surveyed land is routine when government land is handed over to a government department. "This will help to determine the actual size of the plot and its border," a civic official said.

Nilesh Kamble, a Nehru Nagar resident, said, "We are against the rehabilitation project. This land should be kept green for locals. The population of the Kurla East has increased due to the redevelopment of old buildings. More open spaces are needed in the area. Developing a 21-acre land parcel for residential purposes will put an extreme burden on the local infrastructure. On the survey day, we are thinking of protesting and showing black flags to show our opposition to the project."

DRA's requirement

According to RTI documents, the DRA needs 521 acres of land across the city for the rehabilitation of families residing in Dharavi who are ineligible for housing in the proposed redevelopment project. According to the RTI document, the authority has demanded land belonging to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), the collector and the BMC as well as dairy and saltpan land. mid-day had reported that the civic body is ready to give Mulund octroi naka and dumping ground land in a phase-wise manner. However, the BMC refused to let go of Dahisar and Mankhurd octroi naka land. The former spot is the site of a proposed commercial and transport hub and toll naka while a commercial and transport hub project as well as a sewage sludge treatment project have been proposed for the latter site.

21 acres
Size of the Kurla plot