Juhu Koliwada residents fend off SRA project

On Sunday, SRA officials assured HT that no redevelopment projects were planned in koliwadas and gaothans in the city, including in Juhu

Mumbai: Residents of Juhu Koliwada, who have been living there for generations, have managed to fend off attempts by a builder to take over their ancestral land for a redevelopment project, at least for now.

On Wednesday, the residents held a protest meeting at the koliwada, which was attended by over 400 participants. Andheri West MLA Ameet Satam, who was present at the meeting, assured residents that no SRA project would be taken up in their koliwada

Men deputed by the builder started doing the rounds of the fishing village in June this year, they said, trying to drive a wedge between them and convince some residents to agree to the project. This prompted five residents’ organisations to join hands and mount a peaceful resistance, culminating in a demonstration in the village on Wednesday, which was attended by local MLA Ameet Satam. On Sunday, SRA officials assured HT that no redevelopment projects were planned in koliwadas and gaothans in the city, including in Juhu.

Residents of the koliwada told HT that what while they had been fearing advances by builders for long, in June this year, some men started going around houses in the village and introducing a redevelopment project by a prominent builder.

“Since the majority of us do not want redevelopment by a builder or an SRA project here, the five main residents’ organisations got together and told them so. But the men continued to visit houses and threaten residents that if they didn’t agree, a bulldozer will be sent here and we would be left with nothing,” said Anish Gawde, a resident.

The residents’ organisations first shot off letters about the builder’s high-handedness to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), tehsildar, police, the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) and the state government. Yet, on August 11, the builder went ahead with a private meeting with a select few residents, where plans for the redevelopment project were shared.

This prompted the residents into further action. “We are not against redevelopment per se, but we do not want an SRA project or a builder here,” clarified Siddhika Mangela, a resident. “We’ve seen from countless examples how SRA projects turn out, with people left for decades in transit camps and given substandard houses. A builder too will only work for his benefit, not ours. We will be left with nothing,” he said, adding that the residents plan to redevelop the koliwada themselves.

Gawde shared with HT a circular issued by the SRA in 2022 saying SRA projects should not be undertaken in koliwadas under demarcation. “Our koliwada was demarcated in 2018 and the boundary map was given to us in 2021. The state government is currently preparing the development control regulations which based on which rules for redevelopment of koliwadas and gaothans will be framed,” he said.

On Wednesday, the residents held a protest meeting at the koliwada, which was attended by over 400 participants. Andheri West MLA Ameet Satam, who was present at the meeting, assured residents that no SRA project would be taken up in their koliwada. He also sent a letter to the Santacruz police station about the highhandedness of the developer.

“The developer is misleading the locals through his goons and his helpers, threatening them and conducting a wrongful survey using biometrics. An atmosphere of fear has been created among the residents. I request you to investigate the issue and record the local’s responses and file a case of 420 against the developer,” he wrote.

On Sunday, Rama Mitkar, deputy chief engineer of the SRA, told HT, “As of now, no SRA projects are being planned for gaothans or koliwadas, so no such projects will come in Juhu Koliwada.”