After clearing out unauthorised structures, including shanties, the Mumbai Housing and Area Development Board (MHADB), a division of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), reclaimed eight acres of prime land in the Juhu-Andheri area. The clearance operation came after a Bombay High Court decision earlier this month that permitted the authorities to carry out evictions.
Situated opposite Ritambhara College, the reclaimed land is valued at approximately Rs 2,000 crore. Originally earmarked for the rehabilitation of slum dwellers from Loknayak Nagar, Shivajinagar, and New Kapaswadi Cooperative Housing Societies, the land was allocated under the Slum Rehabilitation Scheme (SRA) in 2003. MHADA had granted a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for 59,086.30 square meters for the project.
However, a joint survey revealed that 32,913 square meters of slums were not suitable for rehabilitation. As a result, MHADA instructed the SRA to remove this area, which resulted in the project’s NOC being suspended.
The builder had held possession of the land for two decades, and while MHADA secured paper ownership in 2022, a High Court stay prevented it from taking physical possession. Bombay Slum Development Corporation Pvt. Ltd. later filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) regarding the land.
Under the direction of Executive Engineer Anil Rathod and Sandeep Kalambhe, the Mumbai Board’s Encroachment Removal Unit conducted the eviction effort. After the successful repossession, MHADA reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring public land is used responsibly and put up signboards to discourage future encroachments.
MHADA’s firm stance against unauthorised developments reinforces the importance of strict monitoring of rehabilitation projects and urban planning initiatives. With clear ownership now established, the focus will be on preventing future encroachments and utilising the land as originally intended.
Source: Prop News Time
