A large number of inhabitants of MHADA have threatened to abstain from the next Vidhan Sabha elections in protest of their unmet demand for the reconstruction of 388 reconstructed tenements. Residents of Azad Maidan in Mumbai are planning to boycott the elections with banners reading “No House No Vote” at every MHADA building, despite the guardian minister of Mumbai offering them a solution during the protest on Wednesday.
The MHADA Sangharsh Kruti Samiti staged a protest on Wednesday against the state’s refusal to issue an order for the redevelopment after Chief Minister Eknath Shinde promised a redevelopment program for the 388 South Bombay tenements that have been rebuilt and are waiting for rehabilitation for years.
These structures, which are dispersed throughout Colaba, Girgaon, Byculla, Sewri, Prabhadevi, and Mahim, were redeveloped by MHADA more than 40 years ago when old, decaying chawls were demolished. However, the inhabitants have been calling for its reconstruction for more than five years since these five-story structures have once again started to fall apart.
For almost 27,000 apartment owners, the largest obstacle has been the absence of a formal order, even after the state government notified them that redevelopment of these structures is permitted. Residents claim that this predicament is the result of the government’ inability to formulate a sound policy, and their refusal to budge from their rigid standards is keeping developers away.
According to an MHADA representative, there is a need for a second rehabilitation of the structures in question, which was completed thirty years ago. According to him, the locals are requesting that the 20% fee be waived.
Source: The Free Press Journal
