Mumbai: SRA halts a project in Vile Parle, says nod wrongly given

The slum in Vile Parle East which is set to go for redevelopment. Pics/Satej Shinde

The proposed redevelopment of a slum in Vile Parle East has come to a halt with the Slum Rehabilitation Authority asking the BMC to not proceed with the survey to list those eligible for flats. The SRA has, in its letter dated January 3, stated that the proposed Shree Parle Shraddha Cooperative Housing Society project was given a go ahead despite not having a no-objection certificate from the town planning department.

As per SRA guidelines, the developer has to take NOC from all departments concerned while submitting its proposal for the redevelopment to SRA. An SRA official, on the condition of anonymity, said that the developer for the Shree Parle Shraddha CHS project did not have permission from the town planning department but some officials still cleared it.

Town planning department officials in their report stated that there was road reservation on the said land as per their records. "The SRA scheme should be given sanction only after deletion of the road reservation in the TP," the report read. Despite the adverse remark, a section of the SRA officials moved ahead with the proposal and asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to carry out Annexure 2 which is necessary to decide eligible slum dwellers.

The discrepancy was brought to the notice of SRA CEO Satish Lokhande who immediately instructed the officials concerned to write to BMC asking them to not carry out the survey. "The BMC is requested to not proceed with the Annexure 2 survey until an inquiry in this issue is completed," the letter addressed to BMC K East ward read. mid-day is in possession of a copy of the letter. Lokhande told mid-day, "Unless all the necessary compliances are in place, the scheme and submission of the proposal will not be accepted."

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When contacted, the developer said there was nothing wrong with their proposal as the state government deleted the road reservation in the Development Plan (DP). Dnyaneshwar Malvankar, director of Polo Infrastructure Private Limited - the builder, said, "The same was updated on September 22, 2022 in the DP. Changes made in the DP are binding on the Town Plan (TP). However, in our case the changes made in DP are yet to be updated in the BMC's TP."

When asked about the SRA letter which mentions that approval was given in the wrong manner, the developer refuted the charges. "This is a temporary hurdle. Once the records are updated and deletion of road reservation is reflected in the TP, the procedure for taking necessary approvals/sanction will be done and redevelopment work will commence as per the schedule," Malvankar said.

Meanwhile, a few slum dwellers have urged the SRA to cancel the submission of the developer. "The TP department had not given the NOC, but the proposal was still put up and moved for further approvals. The SRA should cancel the entire process and submission of the developer and initiate a completely new process for appointment of the builder to develop the slum," said Jagdish Patil, a resident of a chawl on the proposed land parcel.

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Day in January when SRA wrote to BMC