Thane residents in rental colonies say 'We are living in hell', blame TMC

Resident Bharti Gawali indicates the non-functional lift in the rental colony in Khewra Circle, Thane. (bottom) Residents have demanded solid waste management and sanitation services from the TMC. Pics/Anurag Ahire

People displaced from slums in Thane and Kalwa and temporarily housed in rental colonies by the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) have claimed that they are having to survive in hellish conditions. Despite paying rent to the TMC, the tenants waiting for their redeveloped houses are having to face widespread leakages, overflowing drains, lack of sanitation and shoddy maintenance.

Mahesh Mishra was put up in a building in Khewra Circle in Thane six years ago by the TMC after the slum in Haridas Nagar where he resided was razed to make way for a road. "There is zero maintenance. Only two out of four elevators are working. There are leakages on every floor. The building is a high rise with 22 floors but the fire fighting system is defunct. We are waiting for our slum to get redeveloped so that we can get a permanent house. Until then we have to stay here and pay rent to the TMC. Yet the TMC does not maintain the building."

Sheikh Jalil Abdul, who hailed from Haridas Nagar and was moved to the same building, said, "Drinking water is not provided on time, and water for household needs is available only once in two or three days. We are stuck here without any other choice." A TMC tenant in Manpada, Bindra Vishwakarma, claimed that the building's atmosphere is suffocating. "The TMC should ensure proper solid waste management and sanitation. I used to reside in Shastri Nagar. I came here with my family around six years ago. Living here is like living in hell," Vishwakarma said.

Sr citizens stuck inside

During a visit to the building in Khewra Circle, mid-day found that in the 22-floor building, the two operating elevators stopped only on the ground floor and on the 18th floor. Without elevators, senior citizens across the higher floors were stuck inside the building. The common areas and passages on all floors were dark as there was no internal lighting and sunlight did not reach inside.

The rental housing colony in Vartak Nagar has four wings of 12 floors each, with every floor in each wing having 22 houses. "The TMC has appointed only one sanitation worker to maintain this huge colony. No one has been hired to keep the passages clean," said tenant Bharti Gawali. She added that the drains are always choked due to a lack of cleaning.

Mahesh Mishra, tenant of rental colony in Khewra Circle

Another tenant from the colony, Ismail Cheulkar, was shifted from Kalwa by the local authority as his building was dilapidated. "We pay R2,200 as rent to the TMC every month. Yet our house leaks from every side and there is no sanitation. The authorities have just dumped us here," Cheulkar said.

Swapnil Mahindrakar, a member of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), called the settlements human dumping grounds. "Just like waste is dumped in a dumping ground, people are dumped here. The buildings are defective. There is no ventilation or natural light. This endangers the health of the residents," Mahindrakar said.

He added that the houses measure 160 sq ft to 180 sq ft. "Not even two or three people can live in these houses, yet in some cases, four to five people are living together. There are around 10 rental housing colonies, each facing the same troubles. The TMC must provide them with basic facilities like solid waste management and sanitation."

Responding to the tenants' claims, Prashant Rode, the additional municipal commissioner of TMC's estate department, told mid-day, "I will take a review of the situation and will update you."