Chavan meets Medha, promises action

Social activist Medha Patkar, who along with 1,000 slumdwellers had organised a protest march from Golibar in Khar to Mantralaya on Tuesday, met chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Wednesday night.

Social activist Medha Patkar, who along with 1,000 slumdwellers had organised a protest march from Golibar in Khar to Mantralaya on Tuesday, met chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Wednesday night.

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Chavan assured the three-member delegation consisting of Patkar, documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan and Sandeep Yeole that he will look into the controversial Golibar issue and take action.

“Chavan told us that since it was a court order he could not do anything. But we told him that it was an interim order and not court’s decision. We strongly feel that the officials have wrongly briefed him by misinterpreting the court order,” said Patkar.

After refusing to grant permission to protesters on Tuesday, following which the march began six-hours later, the police on Wednesday stopped Medha and others at Azad Maidan. They were not allowed to move towards Mantralaya.

Patkar, Patwardhan and slumdwellers from Ganeshkripa Society had organised this march to protest against government’s decision of scrapping the two committees that were formed to inquire into redevelopment projects in Golibar and 15 other slum rehabilitation schemes.

Patkar said, “A meeting to discuss the implementation of the Rajiv Awas Yojana was scheduled to be held on June 10 and the state government was supposed to declare 19 settlements as official slums, but nothing has happened,” adding,

“They intend to withdraw the panels formed to look into the irregularities.”