Shifting PAP has never been easy for the govt as it has to face many hurdles, be it legal or reluctance on part of those affected.
The tall cluster of buildings near the Premiere Compound in Kurla looks attractive and impressive. But, after a walk on its lanes, one can get a feel of how deserted the complex is. Meant for project-affected people around the airport area, most flats in the 150-odd buildings are unoccupied although it was constructed around a couple of years ago.
Nitesh Kasrung, 23, a labourer in a diamond unit, and his family was among the 800-odd families to shift here last year from Andheri’s Sahar area near the international terminal of the airport.
“The buildings here are all empty. It becomes scarier after sunset,” he says.
It’s a different life for the slum dwellers who shifted here. Although they have all the basic facilities of water and power, the confines of the concrete jungle is claustrophobic.
“We have all the facilities here like toilets, water connection and a clean environment. But at times, I feel scared to walk through the empty lanes around the complex,” said H Sheikh, who also shifted here from Sahar.
The buildings are lying vacant as a huge chunk of more than 85,000 hutments around the airport are yet to be rehabilitated because of legal hurdle.
Last month, Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) terminated the agreement with HDIL, the real estate firm which was entrusted the task of building houses for the project-affected people. MIAL alleged that the real estate company failed to meet its 2011 deadline of constructing houses.
HDIL blamed the government agencies for failing to coming out with the list of eligible slum dwellers to be shifted to these buildings. The plan was to rehabilitate over 10 lakh slum dwellers surround the airport, says the HDIL website. HDIL has now moved the court against the contract’s termination as it fears that SRA and MMRDA could repossess these buildings.
The cluster of building looks deserted even though the state government shifted another 600 families from Bandra (E ), who have been accommodated in Kurla buildings for two years. They were displaced in a SRA construction.
The Andheri slum dwellers living in Kurla buildings claim that the government has let out the flats to those other than the project-affected people of the airport area. They fear that many of them might refuse to vacate the flats even after the Bandra project’s completion.
The HDIL spokesperson was not available for comment. However, an HDIL official said the matter is in court. MMRDA spokesperson Dilip Kavatkar did not respond to the calls made by dna.
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