Swinging into action a couple of months before the Lok Sabha elections, the Prithviraj Chavan-led Congress- NCP state government managed to ensure that a bill to extend the cut-off date for regularisation of slums from 1995 to 2000 sailed through in the legislature. The decision will benefit residents of around 3.75 lakh structures.
Speaking in the legislative assembly on Friday, Chavan, who has otherwise been accused by detractors, party men and allies alike of slow decision making, also announced a cluster redevelopment scheme for over 30 years old legal structures, illegal and crumbling buildings and slums in Thane.
He also announced a cluster redevelopment policy for around 20,000 constructions of the project affected in and around the gaothans in Navi Mumbai. Chavan said that the state would consider a similar cluster policy for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
Despite their dismal living conditions in the metropolis, the toiling masses in the slums form a crucial vote bank for political parties. According to the 2011 census, around 41.3 per cent of the households in Mumbai are slum households.
The amendment to the Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and Redevelopment) Act, 1971, was approved unanimously by all political parties through a voice vote in the legislative assembly on Friday.
Chavan, who described this as a step towards slum-free Mumbai, said the amendment would give succour to the lakhs, who lived in slums, and added that the municipal commissioner and the BEST had been asked to consider the new date for giving water and power connections to slums, which had come up between 1995 and 2000.
Stressing that illegal constructions needed to be curbed, Chavan said they were appointing two officers in a ward with a police force to prevent slums and added that action would be taken against them in case they did not remove new slums.
"Housing is a basic need of people," said Chavan, admitting to how Mumbai was a magnet for people who came for employment from across rural and urban areas. Chavan also admitted to lacunae in the rehab policy.
In vital public projects like MUTP, MUIP, Mithi river, Mumbai airport development and Dharavi redevelopment, the state had extended the cut off to 2000 for rehabilitation of the project affected with concurrence of the court.
Chavan added that the Democratic Front government had undertaken infrastructure and transport projects in the city to ensure that the basic infrastructure was not stressed and the life of residents was not affected.
Chavan said that the alliance had been elected to power in 2004 and 2009 and stressed that the same would happen in 2014 as well. He added that there would be no contempt of court and that the attorney general (AG) had been consulted in this regard.
Ironically, the Congress- NCP joint manifestos in 2004 and 2009 had promised the extension of the regularisation date to 2000 but the state government had dithered in biting the bullet due to the legal issues involved. Then Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) late Prabha Rau had tried to wash their hands off the issue by calling it as a "printing mistake."
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