Homeless in Nalasopara: Furious residents ask why civic body collected house tax if the buildings were illegal

Belongings of the residents scattered out in the open. Pics/Hanif Patel

A Humanitarian crisis was witnessed near the demolition site, where Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation razed seven out of 41 unauthorised residential buildings following a court order.

The Maharashtra state government has failed to rehabilitate the affected families, despite the Supreme Court directing the authorities to "explore the possibility of relocating the displaced occupants". The pet animals of these homeless people are also affected, as they have no food to eat.

Residents ask why weren't they rehabilitated despite SC directing authorities to explore options

On Thursday night, hundreds of elderly people, children, and women were forced to sleep under the open sky without food or water, as the civic body failed to provide shelter or rehabilitate the 53 displaced families. Most of the families had to spend the night huddled around bonfires to protect themselves from mosquito bites and the cold breeze. The homeless people told mid-day that they had been paying house tax for their flats to Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) and they had electricity as well as water connections in their flats but still their flats were razed. mid-day spoke to a few families who narrated their ordeal saying that the politicians only used them as a vote bank, but never protected them when the civic body began a crackdown on Thursday.

"In the run-up to the state Assembly polls, every day, at least 10 politicians would visit us to seek votes with their folded hands. They would promise to safeguard us, but once the elections are over, no one is ready to stand in our support," said Raj Bahadur Gautam, who bought 1 BHK flat from a bogus builder in 2013. Gautam's six-member family including his grandchildren slept on the road. Venting out his anger against politicians, Gautam said, "We had voted a party so that our shelters can remain protected. But we will show our strength in the upcoming civic polls. We will boycott the municipal elections and encourage people not to vote for any political party as everybody has ditched us."

"Were the government officials sleeping when these buildings were constructed? And why did the VVCMC collect the house tax of these buildings if they were illegal? Also, there are several government plots in the Vasai-Virar region where unauthorised constructions have been made. The civic body will not raze them because those buildings belong to influential people," said Gautam, who is a native of Madhya Pradesh.

"Since my family was expanding, we planned to buy a budget house in Nalasopara. At the time of purchasing, the builder did not reveal the fact that these buildings are constructed on government plots earmarked for a dumping ground or sewage treatment plant," said Shivshankar Sharma, who is a native of Bhagalpur district in Bihar.

"I bought a 1BHK flat for R7.5 lakh from the builder in 2006. I have been staying in Mumbai for the last 30 years but never faced this crisis in my life. Today, I feel helpless to see my children and wife sleeping on the road with my belongings scattered around," said Sharma.

"I had saved every single penny to buy a flat but still I am homeless. My belongings are destroyed, the study of my children has been disturbed for the last week, and there is nothing to eat as we are not allowed to cook here," said Sharma.

"I am left with no other option than to die by suicide, as I am unable to buy another house to give shelter to my family and I do not have money to pay house rent."
A vegetable seller Shiv Gupta said, "Though my building is yet to be razed, all the belongings are lying in a messy condition. The cops and civic officials threw our belongings out of the house to vacate the building. We also slept on the road. Had I known these buildings were illegal, I would have never purchased a flat. I would request the government to at least please rehabilitate us as we can't afford to buy another house now," added Gupta.