500 families of cops in Thane get eviction notice

The Thane police commissionerate has issued notices to family members of more than 500 policemen to vacate their houses which have been declared dangerous and not fit for occupation.

The Thane police commissionerate has issued notices to family members of more than 500 policemen to vacate their houses which have been declared dangerous and not fit for occupation.

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Those served the notice earlier this week are in a fix as the schools and colleges of children have already started for the year and shifting the places at this stage will invite several problems, according to some policemen who received the eviction notices.

The quarters for policemen were constructed by Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) in 1972-73, which house a total of 556 tenements.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which conducted the structural audit of the buildings, declared that these over 37-year-old structures were dilapidated and not fit for occupation.

Based on the report of the MMRDA earlier, Thane police chief K P Raghuvanshi wrote to the state chief secretary to allot flats to policemen in the rental houses constructed for MHADA in Thane.

Some of the families said if the government could provide shelter to slum dwellers residing in the unauthorised slums, then why can't it take a similar step for policemen, who are residing in regular quarters.