Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray will give the first lot of project-affected people their allotment letters in a day or two
The building in MHB Colony, Gorai, where homes have been allotted to Mahul residents. Pic/ Anurag Ahire
Mahul residents finally have a reason to celebrate. After several protests and a legal tussle with the civic body, 206 families — subjected to a life of suffering and ill health caused by the area's high pollution — are set to get homes in Gorai after MHADA released 288 flats. Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray will hand them the allotment letters within the next couple of days.
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While the development is a positive step, it is only a partial victory for the residents, whose stir began in 2018. Last year, the MHADA had agreed to give 300 tenements to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to resettle project-affected people (PAP).
However, according to senior civic officials, the body gave only 288 flats on February 4. Of those, the BMC is allotting 206.
"We had a list of residents. However, some moved out, while some put their flats on rent. We have not given flats to them. Priority has been given to those who are currently staying there," said a senior civic official. The official added that the fate of the remaining 82 flats is undecided.
The civic body needs more than 3,000 tenements to rehabilitate the residents at the PAP settlement in Mahul.
Aaditya Thackeray
While civic officials prepared the allotment letters on Thursday, sources close to Thackeray said he will hand over the letters to residents by Friday or Saturday.
Civic officials also said that they did not know the reason behind MHADA's delay in handing over the remaining 12 flats.
B Radhakrishnan, Chief Officer of Mumbai Board of MHADA, said, "There are certain technical issues that will be sorted out soon. MHADA will fulfil its promise of giving 300 flats."
The 206 flats in Gorai
are part of a seven-storey building with four wings in MHB colony.
Mahul residents and activists who helped them had mixed feelings about the development. Pooja Pandit, who has been living at Mahul for over three years, sees the first set of flats as a small beacon of hope.
The MHADA building no. 5 has seven storeys and four wings
While Pandit has been suffering from breathlessness for the past few months, her husband has cardiac troubles. "We are grateful to the government, but we have a long way to go still. We are all in this together and we will continue our fight until every resident in Mahul has been relocated to a safer place," Pandit said.
Pollution in Mahul has given people a range of health problems like skin infections, hair loss and urinary tract infections.
Like Pandit, Bilal Khan, convenor of the Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan, said that the allocation is a major victory for the people who have been continuously protesting. "It is less than what we expected but it is a welcome move. We hope that the government helps the remaining residents quickly," he said.
3000
No. of affected families in need of homes
300
No. of homes promised by MHADA
5,500
No. of families to be rehabilitated
3,000
No. of tenements the BMC needs
300
No. of tenements promised by MHADA
288
No. of tenements handed over by MHADA
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