Mumbai plot to be used for children’s home, not slum rehabilitation

The petitioner alleged the land, valued at about Rs1,500 crore, was being usurped by a private developer in connivance with officials of the society and others by paying a paltry sum of Rs20 crore

A 6.5-acre plot at Borla in Chembur, which was donated by a private trust, will be used for the benefit of Children’s Aid Society, instead of a slum rehabilitation scheme, the Maharashtra government recently told the Bombay high court.

The HC was told the state has decided to scrap the policy. (HT)

Pradeep Hanur, lawyer for Goregaon resident and activist Kamal Jagdish Singh who filed a plea in 2014, said the plot was donated by Mohammed Yusuf Trust to the society for destitute children. Despite an assurance to the high court, nothing was done to clear encroachments on the land. Instead, the state allowed a project to rehabilitate slum dwellers on the plot, said Hanur.

In his plea, Singh urged the court to order the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) to file a first information report against officials of the Children’s Aid Society and others for illegally allowing slum rehabilitation project on the land.

He alleged the land, valued at about Rs1,500 crore, was being usurped by a private developer in connivance with officials of the society and others by paying a paltry sum of Rs20 crore – Rs10 crore towards corpus and Rs10 crore as land premium to the government.

A division bench of Justice RM Savant and Justice Sadhana Jadhav was told the state has decided to scrap the policy and eligible slum dwellers will be rehabilitated in accordance with the prevailing state policy elsewhere.