Panvel civic body to build first shelter home for the homeless

The corporation has invited bids for the construction of the first shelter for the homeless in its jurisdiction which can accommodate 100 persons on permanent basis.

Navi Mumbai: For the hundreds forced to live on the roads, beneath bridges or even on dirty pavements, Panvel Municipal corporation has taken the lead to provide such individuals permanent shelter. The corporation has invited bids for construction of the very first shelter for the homeless in its jurisdiction which will be provisioned to accomodate 100 persons on permanent basis.

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The civic administration is in the process of getting the plot transferred from CIDCO. “The work is almost done and in a matter a day or two, the handover will be complete as the agreement is in its final stage. Meanwhile, tender bids are also being invited so that the work on the construction of the building can commence at the earliest,” said an official from the corporation.

A G+3 structure is to be constructed and cost estimated to be incurred in constructing the building is ₹3.96 crore. The structure is to come up on plot 7 A, situated in sector 12 of Khanda Colony, Panvel. “This is the first of its kind work to be undertaken by the corporation and is expected to benefit the underprivileged section. Based on the response it will be decided whether to have more such set up in other wards of the corporation,” said the official. 3 more such buildings are planned by the administration in other wards like Taloja, Kharghar and Kalamboli.

Simultaneously the administration will also be conducting a survey on the number of homeless people residing in the area. Similar survey was earlier undertaken in 2019 wherein 169 were found to be homeless. “The survey back then was conducted through a third party. Of the 169 persons found to be homeless 100 were categorized as active cases and the remaining 69 seems to be on the move. So a fresh survey is to be conducted,” informed the official.