Elderly couple denied home will fast unto death

Monica and Leslie Rodrigues are currently living with a relative in Virar West

An elderly septuagenarian couple has threatened to fast unto death in the coming week, as their repeated pleas for alternative accommodation from MHADA after demolition of their home in Mahim, has fallen on deaf ears.

The couple has been running from pillar to post for the last nine years, and is aggrieved because the house that was allotted to them on paper, has allegedly been given to a third party.

Monica and Leslie Rodrigues are currently living with a relative in Virar West. In her complaint to the Chief Vigilance officer of Konkan MHADA, Bandra East, dated February 5, 2018, Monica, who is hearing-impaired, claimed that she had bought a shanty from Kissan Gaikwad at Room No. 156 Senapati Bapat Road, Mahim, in the early 1990s.

The couple lost their home during the road widening project of Senapati Bapat Marg over a decade ago. Her room was brought under the project and all the project-affected households were provided alternative accommodation under the SRA/Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMYA). But, a home allotted under their name in the Western suburbs was allegedly given to someone else.

Since then, they have been struggling to get a legitimate home. Their letters and visits to the MHADA and SRA offices, including the Maharashtra Lokayukta, an apex body created to address grievances of people against the government, have not yielded any results.

"It is saddening that an elderly couple is being denied their basic rights. The Maharashtra Lokayukta had directed officials to attend to their complaint, yet nothing was done. There were hundreds of other slum-dwellers who were rehabilitated, but sadly this elderly couple has been cheated by corrupt officials," said Advocate Godfrey Pimenta, who is also one of the founder trustees of an NGO, Watchdog Foundation, appearing pro bono for the couple.

Pimenta said that the permanent alternative accommodation allotted to Monica, despite having necessary documents to support her case, was fraudulently allotted to a third party. "If Monica's claim is genuine and valid, it should be considered on merit and a permanent accommodation at a suitable location should be allotted at the earliest." He added, "My clients are fed up of being harassed for no reason and will hence, fast unto death in front of Matoshree, Bandra, which is the residence of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray."