They were assured houses in Dussehra, now hope for Diwali luck

Thousands of former mill workers in Mumbai are still waiting for the houses they were promised in 2016. Delays in paperwork, changes in government, and the repurposing of ready homes as quarantine centers due to COVID-19 have all contributed to the delay. The houses, which were supposed to be handed over on Dussehra, are now expected to be completed by November. However, many workers are skeptical and concerned about the prolonged wait and the deteriorated condition of the houses. MHADA, the housing authority, still needs to find land to build houses for the remaining beneficiaries.

Mumbai Renuka Pavaskar’s husband Ravindra, employed in a pest control agency, shells out ₹6,000 every month to pay for a home loan the family took in 2019. Alongside, he pays ₹10,000 every month as rent for a house the family of six lives in in Dahisar. Renuka, whose father worked in Modern Mills, Parel for 20 years till 1982, was promised a house in 2016, for which she made a down payment of ₹6 lakh in 2019.

Maruti Jadhav, who worked in Khatau Mill, Borivali, said, “We were promised houses on Dussehra, which is today. Are we going to get it by next Diwali now? My family pooled in ₹6 lakh for the house. And now, as a pensioner who gets around ₹1,000 a month, I have to do odd jobs to put food on the table.”

Pavaskars, and 2416 others, were promised houses after a protracted wait, on Dussehra. They are still waiting.

In 2016, from a pool of over a lakh people, Renuka hit gold in the lottery held by Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) for subsidized housing for former mill workers and their families. Each was promised two flats of one-room-kitchen measuring 160 square feet in Kongaon, Panvel, at ₹6 lakh. The land belonged to Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) where the agency built the houses. Many paid up in 2019, after dipping into their savings or taking loans.

“I have three children, between 15 and 7. My oldest will go into class 11 next year. I am worried about the hike in expenses for her education,” said Renuka.

Jitendra Deshmukh keeps his family afloat simply on the promise of a house someday. He lives in a chawl in Mankhurd with his father, a former mill worker, mother, brother, his wife and their two children. “I’m able to pay ₹6,000 every month towards my home loan because I work in a bank. But there are many who do not have similar means,” he said.

So what caused the delay?

While they were shown a sample house in 2017, the eligibility process of the workers took time, especially with many rounds of appeals. A MHADA officer, without condoning the delay, said the time taken to complete paperwork in such a situation is not unnatural. “As there were many changes in government, our houses were neglected and delayed,” said Deshmukh.

Then Covid-19 hit the world.

The ready homes were repurposed by the Panvel Municipal Corporation as quarantine centres for affected patients. “Post pandemic, the buildings were left in awful conditions, with broken doors and sinks stolen. The houses could be handed over in such a state,” said Pravin Yerunkar, general secretary of Girni Kamgaar Sangharsh Samiti, the union which fought for the mill workers’ rights.

Milind Borikar, chief officer, MHADA, said, “The quality of the houses has deteriorated, after they were used to keep Covid-19 patients. At the time we told MMRDA to repair it. They were reluctant at first, but gradually arrived at a consensus – that MMRDA will bear 80% cost of repairs and MHADA 20%.”

MHADA then floated a tender for repairs, adding an expense of over ₹52 crore. Borikar said work on the buildings has been on since June this year and will be completed by November, just in time for Diwali.

But the mill workers are not easily swayed. Maruti Jadhav, who worked in Khatau Mill, Borivali, said, “We were promised houses on Dussehra, which is today. Are we going to get it by next Diwali now? My family pooled in ₹6 lakh for the house. And now, as a pensioner who gets around ₹1,000 a month, I have to do odd jobs to put food on the table.”

Another former mill worker Jotiba Bhimrao Wandre suspects the repairs will take at least till the end of the year. “I live near the buildings and sometimes walk over to chat with the workers there. There’s still a lot of work left; and barely 15 days for Diwali.”

Apart from the 2,417 beneficiaries, around 1.5 lakh former mill workers still remain deprived of a permanent address. Only an estimated 15,000 have received their promised houses till date, said Borikar. For the rest, MHADA still needs to find the land.

“There is little space left in Mumbai to build houses for them. We are looking out for land in MMR that has proper infrastructure,” said Borikar.

Until then, it’s a waiting game.