Rehab flats crumbling, say Elphinstone bridge PAPs

Seventy-eight families displaced for the Sewri-Worli Corridor face poor living conditions in new homes, demanding reimbursement for costly repairs.

MUMBAI: Seventy-eight families, uprooted to make way for the Sewri–Worli Elevated Corridor, say they are paying a price for development. After generations in Elphinstone Road, they have moved into apartments allotted to project-affected persons (PAPs) under a rehabilitation package, clearing the path for a mega project that promises to transform east-west connectivity in the city.

Rehab flats crumbling, say Elphinstone bridge PAPs

But, for these families, the ‘greater good’ feels distant. Their new homes are in poor condition – some infested with termites, others with crumbling walls, and several plagued by seepage in walls and bathrooms. To make their new homes habitable, these residents have spent good money on repairs. But there’s a plot twist – the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) has now decided to fix these homes.

Residents say that since they have already spent large sums on extensive repairs, they should be reimbursed, arguing that the flats should never have been in this condition in the first place.

Since MMRDA, executing the Sewri-Worli connector project, had bought the homes from the MHADA, the latter will undertake the repairs. MHADA floated tenders for this on Tuesday.

According to the residents’ demands, these homes are located within a 4-km radius of their original homes, in 16 MHADA buildings in Lower Parel, Byculla, Parel, Matunga, Dadar, Mahim and Wadala.

The estimated cost of repairs offers some idea of just how dire the situation is – ₹56.65 lakh to be spent on repairs across 18 months.

“Special repairs will include repairs to walls, columns, beams by applying waterproof plaster paint, polymer and tiling, in addition to waterproofing treatment for room slabs and replacing doors and windows, and cleaning the rooms,” said a MHADA official.

Pooja Herlekar’s apartment in Priyadarshini building in Dadar was infested with termites and leaking. “The authorities did not bother to address these before handing them over to us,” said Herlekar, who until a few weeks ago lived in Haji Noorani Chawl at Elphinstone Road.

Mayur Loke, who shifted to Eon Tower in Dadar, couldn’t fix nails into the walls because the plaster would crumble instantly. “Some walls had seepage and the kitchen sink wasn’t done properly. I had to redo all this,” said Loke.

Likewise, Munaf Thakur, another Haji Noorani Chawl resident, has had to fix seepage in his new home in Priyadarshini building in Dadar. “To fix a leak in the bathroom floor, the flooring had to be redone. Now that they will repair the buildings, we will have to spend on redoing the interiors. MMRDA must reimburse us,” said Thakur.

MMRDA commissioner Sanjay Mukherjee did not respond to attempts to reach him.