Gaothan residents want civic poll candidates to commit to 10-point action plan

The action plan seeks for original inhabitants of the city housing benefits, tax exemptions, cultural promotion, self-governance, reservation in jobs, business opportunities, heritage preservation and infrastructure development in gaothans

Mumbai: Ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election on January 15, the Mobai Gaothan Panchayat (MGP), an initiative to bring all gaothans or designated villages within Mumbai, on Thursday released a 10-point action plan aimed at aspiring poll candidates and elected representatives.

Gaothan residents want civic poll candidates to commit to 10-point action plan

“We intend to present this action plan to those contesting the upcoming BMC elections. We have planned a series of announcements in tune with the polls,” Vicky Misquitta, a core member of the MGP, told Hindustan Times.

The 10-point action plan is part of the Mumbai Bhumiputra Policy 2026 – a policy document aimed at protection of the rights of East Indians and other original inhabitants of the city – which was also released on Thursday.

The action plan seeks for original inhabitants of the city housing benefits, tax exemptions, cultural promotion, self-governance, reservation in jobs, business opportunities, heritage preservation and infrastructure development in gaothans.

The MGHP will support candidates who commit to the action plan irrespective of their political affiliation, members said.

Alphi D’Souza, another core member, told HT that a special quota for original inhabitants of the city should be introduced in Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) projects, alongside a Bhumiputra Housing Scheme for East Indians and a gaothan expansion policy.

“East Indians have lost most of their land to development. Families grow every 10-11 years, which necessitates bigger homes. So, we should be legally permitted to have ground and two storey structures to accommodate our families,” D’Souza said.

The MGP also wants the government to extend partial financial support for restoration of their homes.

“We have been paying property tax and cess to the government. A corpus should be created to subsidise restoration of our homes, similar to Mhada providing funds to repair cessed buildings in south Mumbai,” D’Souza said.

Walter Murzello, a member of the MGP, said pre-1960 houses in gaothans must be exempted from taxes and provided with a special electricity tariff structure.

Since the gaothans date back several decades or centuries, the roads and related infrastructure are narrow. The MGP seeks improvements in infrastructure without altering road widths, by way of better lighting, well maintained lanes, and street furniture. It also wants permissions pertaining to repairs to be simplified, alongside incentives for maintaining heritage homes, regularisation of holy crosses, and promotion of their arts, crafts and culinary items at railway stations, metro stations and other public spaces.