BMC to start allotting houses to project affected people by month-end

The BMC is slated to take over around 10,000 houses from the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) in Kurla. Subsequently, those living around Mithi River and LBS Marg will also be rehabilitated.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will start rehabilitating project affected people (PAP) in the eastern suburbs by the end of this month. This means the civic body can get started on a number of crucial projects that were stuck because of the unavailability of alternative accommodation.

The BMC is slated to take over around 10,000 houses from the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) in Kurla. Subsequently, those living around Mithi River and LBS Marg will also be rehabilitated.

Around 6,250 homes from the 10,000 available in Kurla, will be used to rehabilitate hutments near Tansa water mains.

Following a directive by the Bombay high court, the BMC had started clearing the hutments near the water pipelines, which could not be completed owing to shortage of homes.

A number of road widening plans too could not be executed because of a shortage of accommodation.

These houses will also help people affected in the BRIMSTOWAD (Brihanmumbai Storm Water Drains) project of constructing pumping stations.

However, if BMC sources are to be believed, these houses will all be at Kurla. This has been decided at a meeting that took place earlier this month between the SRA and civic authorities. Out of 10,000 houses, around 5,000 will be handed over to the BMC’s estate department by the end of the month.

During the survey across the water mains, the BMC found a total 15,789 hutments across nine wards, of which 8,790 were eligible for rehabilitation.

The ward officers of various wards have been notified and have been asked to get the paper work ready for the allotment process.

This, however, doesn’t seem to have gone down well with the ward officers. “The paper work will take longer and the rehabilitation cannot happen immediately,” a ward officer said on the condition of anonymity.