Adani using muscle power to evict Dharavi residents, claims local MLA
: Mumbai Congress chief and MLA from Dharavi, Varsha Gaikwad, made a startling claim on the floor of the assembly on Monday that Adani Group, which has bagged the redevelopment project of Asia’s largest slums, has roped in former police officers and encounter specialists to threaten the residents to vacate their homes
Gaikwad, who recently took out a morcha against the Dharavi redevelopment project, said some of the residents were served eviction notices in the middle of the night through unauthorised sources and were asked to clear out within four days. Without naming anyone, she said three of the officers had earlier served in Dharavi.
“These residents are living in fear. They have been told that the eviction will begin in four days but have not been given any alternative accommodation till the completion of the project. This is nothing but an attempt to suppress the residents’ voice with the help of muscle power,” she said.
The Congress leader urged deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to take steps against this practice and also appealed to speaker Rahul Narwekar to give directives to the government in this regard.
Ever since Adani Housing, the real estate division of the corporate behemoth, won the bidding for the project the slum dwellers have been reeling under its threat, she said.
“There are more such notices expected in the coming days. The slum dwellers first need to be given a clear idea as to where they will be rehabilitated. Surveys were conducted on the eligibility for their rehabilitation in the redeveloped buildings, but there have been no hearings by authorities on this, which is mandatory in the law. Besides, the state has already paid ₹800 crore to the Railways for its land needed for the rehabilitation purpose,” the legislator said.
By the end of the session, neither Fadnavis nor Narwekar had issued any statement.
Later, speaking to reporters outside the legislature, Gaikwad said these “goons”, who are trying to forcefully throw these residents out, have been paid and provided with the required infrastructure. “The notices served are not signed by the officials concerned. The affected residents will take to the streets if this doesn’t stop soon.”
Corroborating Gaikwad’s claim, Raju Korde, convenor of Dharavi Bachao Andolan, said two senior police officers, who had served in Shahu Nagar police station, had been engaged by the conglomerate for the job.
“A former senior inspector at Shahu Nagar police station and a former encounter specialist have been spotted moving around in Dharavi and talking to people. I don’t know if they issued any threats, but people are not being told anything clearly which is creating an apprehension about the project,” Korde said.
He further said, “They (the former police officers) know the area well and have records of the activists and anti-social elements. We have information that the slums in Samata Nagar and Sanjay Gandhi Nagar are expected to be demolished on Tuesday. They are on the Railways land for which the state has already paid ₹800 crore. It is the responsibility of the government to rehabilitate them, but the agencies are shrugging off their responsibility.”
Meanwhile, 167 residents from Sanjay Gandhi Nagar, Samta Nagar, Ganesh Nagar, and Meghwadi have received notices from the Central Railway to vacate their homes by December 12. Angered, people stopped an official from the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport who arrived on Monday to remove electric meters ahead of Tuesday’s demolition.
“The slums are located on the Railways land. Railway officials say those people will not be rehabilitated. We told the local police to show restraint as the MPs and MLAs are away in parliament and assembly sessions. People are living on the edge as they could be thrown out of their homes. Where will they go?” asked a local resident.
Sanjay Bhalero from Dharavi Bachao Andolan and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Mahesh Sawant rushed to Sanjay Gandhi Nagar after distress calls from the residents.
“People are really agitated after the police deployment increased. We will not allow anyone to become homeless. The entire Dharavi will come here if they use force,” Sawant said.
Baburao Mane, former MLA from Dharavi, alleged that the developer is conspiring to throw the residents out of Dharavi and develop the plot as a business hub on the lines of Bandra Kurla Complex.
“We have 90,000 to 1.10 lakh tenements and shops, but they are planning to rehabilitate only 58,000 of them. By terming others ineligible, they are planning to shoo them away. It is not the development of Dharavi, but it is the development of the conglomerate,” he said.
The state government in July formally awarded the 259-hectare redevelopment project to the Adani Group firm.
Recently, former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, who heads Shiv Sena (UBT), alleged that the state was favouring Adani Group by tweaking the rules governing transferable development rights. Thackeray has announced to lead a protest rally on December 16, which will be joined by Dharavi Bachao Andolan.
(With inputs from Satish Nandgaonkar)
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