Families had approached local MNS MLA Mangesh Sangale but he only took copies of their papers and has since been sitting on them.
Seventy-year-old Angella Ferie still remembers the day she moved into her house at Kannamwar Nagar in Vikhroli over 30 years ago.
The Maharashtra Housing Area Development Authority (Mhada) had provided her family, among about 200 others, with this accommodation when it began redeveloping its housing colony in Chira Bazaar. And now, she faces the threat of being thrown out by for another redevelopment without being provided with an alternative roof over her head. Ditto is the predicament that other families here share.
“It is very confusing. My husband is retired and we have been in this Mhada ‘transit camp’ since 1978. Now, we have been declared illegal occupants. Where should we go now? We have no money to fight a legal battle,” complained Ferie.
“The last time, the Mhada had provided us with this Vikhroli residence. But after the redevelopment, our owners sold our houses in the open market. We told the Mhada of our plight. But it all fell on deaf ears. The Mhada authorities were hand in glove with our old owner and now, some developer is eyeing our property,” she alleged.
Mamata Amberkar, 43, a resident who earlier stayed in Colaba, said her former house was demolished to widen the road. “While demolishing our house, the authorities gave us this Mhada accommodation in Vikhroli. We have been staying here for the last 27 years and now, they say we have occupied these houses illegally. We have told them that we will vacate only after they provide us with another accommodation. We are poor and our protesting voices will not be heard. That’s why they are pressuring us. We fear that they will evict us by force.”
She alleged that the families had approached local MNS MLA Mangesh Sangale but he only took copies of their papers and has since been sitting on them.
Vasudeo Narkar, 62, insisted that he has been paying various corporation and Mhada taxes for the last several years now. “If we were illegally staying here, then why were they collecting taxes from us? “ he retorted. He charged the Mhada with planning a conspiracy. “The eviction notices were issued only to two to three residents at a time so that there is not much ruckus and protest. We have heard that some developers are eyeing this property.”
Annasaheb Misal, chief officer of the Mhada, was not available for comments despite repeated attempts. Junior officials said they are not authorised to speak to the media.
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