Conservancy workers fear losing quarters

Safai Kamgars residing in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Sheeshmahal quarters in Chinchpokli are staring at uncertainty since the civic body has asked them to vacate their homes by December 31

Mumbai: Safai Kamgars residing in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) Sheeshmahal quarters in Chinchpokli are staring at uncertainty since the civic body has asked them to vacate their homes by December 31.

Mumbai, India - Dec. 26, 2022: BMC conservancy workers staff sat on a one day fast at Chinchpokli area after receiving an eviction notice from BMC, living in BMC quarters. The staff is not provided with an alternate accommodation and instead provided a monthly rent, which staff said is not enough to find a home in the area, in Mumbai, India, on Monday, December 26, 2022. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

The BMC has warned them that if they fail to do so, they will be evicted with the help of police starting January 2 next year. The civic body plans to demolish the quarters and rebuild them to accommodate more staff.

On Monday, former BJP corporator Surekha Lokhande and local BJP leader Rohidas Lokhande along with the conservancy workers sat on a one-day fast outside the quarters demanding the BMC not to vacate them unless they are provided with alternate accommodation.

“These homes are all structurally fit and yet the BMC is pressuring the workers to vacate. They cannot shift far away from here as they all work here and their kids are studying in schools here. The BMC has not given them any written assurances or commitment that they will get back their quarters once they are rebuilt,” Rohidas Lokhande said.

The quarters located next to Chinchpokli station has 68 flats and around 15 more homes in a chawl set up, that houses around 500 people. The BMC, which plans to develop the land as per the Ashray Yojana had put up notices outside flats and chawls asking them to vacate by November 20, which was then extended by December 31.

Under the Ashray Yojana, development /redevelopment of plots, presently occupied by staff quarters, are taken up for providing staff quarters to all workers and conservancy staff of the solid waste management department. However, due to paucity of land, the BMC had decided to develop existing staff quarters through a municipal fund with an enhanced floor space index (FSI) of 4.00.

The workers have said that it is impossible for them to rent a place in the area.

A resident said, “In this area, it costs at least ₹20,000 to get even a 200 square feet house on rent, why cannot the BMC give us an alternate accommodation in the area or within one km radius? We work in the nearby BMC wards and our kids also study here. Our problem is, there is no clarity from the civic body on what will happen next. They are not giving us anything in writing. We will not vacate this unless an alternate accommodation is provided.”

Prabhakar Jadhav, another resident of the quarters, said, “I have been living here since I was a kid, four generations of our family have worked for the BMC and now they want to take away our homes. We are demanding the civic body to shift us to a transit camp or other government houses. So many people cannot find homes in the same area at once. The BMC can provide homes under slum rehabilitation to so many people, but cannot provide quarters to people, who are working for generations for them? Now, they are threatening us that they will call the police to vacate us. We do not have any problems with development, but we should get our rights.”

When HT reached out to deputy municipal commissioner Chanda Jadhav, additional municipal commissioner Dr Sanjeev Kumar through messages and calls, they did not respond.