As per the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) rules, slum dwellers are not allowed to construct ground-plus one shanties.
On March 4, 2011, a major fire broke out at Garib Nagar in Bandra (East) burning down around 450 illegal slums. A year later, the illegal shanties with multiple unauthorised floors are back.
Instead of clearing the railway land and rehabilitating the slum dwellers at a different location, the authorities are turning a blind eye.
“The Garib Nagar slum is mushrooming on the railway authority land. It shows that slums are the internal part of the city. They will continuously thrive,” said an activist, requesting anonymity.
As per the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) rules, slum dwellers are not allowed to construct ground-plus one shanties. But, at Garib Nagar, right under the noses of the police and the civic department, almost all shanties are ground-plus two and a few even ground-plus three.
Activists claim that it is the slum lords, politicians and corrupt officials who allow the allow slums to grow for vested interests. There are 2,000 people crammed into these 250 huts at Garib Nagar and they are all authorised voters.
“Who will dare to lose these 2,000 voters? They remain consolidated and vote for one candidate ensuring his victory. In 1970, 45% of the city was covered with slums, now the number has reached above 60%,” claimed an activist.
“Several people were seriously injured in the major fire that broke out there last year, but neither the slum dwellers nor the government has learnt any lesson from the incident,” said Ashish Shelar, Bharatiya Janata Party leader from Bandra.
He added that on Wednesday, the railway minister allocated Rs5,000 crore for the safety of the passengers in the rail budget. But, slums are being constructed on railway land right under their noses. “The Railway Police Force does not have enough staff to take action. They are struggling for the fund and facilities. So, what kind of safety they will give to passengers?” Shelar pointed out.
But, where do the poor slum dwellers go?
“After the fire, we got Rs30,000 each from the state government, but the money was spent on basic necessities. We took loans from the moneylenders at high interest rate to build our new homes,” said Abdul Sheikh, one of the slum dwellers who returned to Garib Nagar.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}