According to MMRDA metropolitan commissioner Rahul Asthana, a major change in the slum rehabilitation policy is necessary, failing which, the entire plan of shifting the airport slums can go for a toss.
After realising that only 40% of the 80,000 slums on airport land qualify to be resettled under the airport beautification project, the state government and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Corporation (MMRDA) are likely to make major modifications to the slum rehabilitation rules.
According to MMRDA metropolitan commissioner Rahul Asthana, a major change in the slum rehabilitation policy is necessary, failing which, the entire plan of shifting the airport slums can go for a toss. “As per the rule, only those slums existing before January 1, 2000 are eligible for resettlement. However, in case of airport slums, many slum dwellers have bought existing slums (which existed prior to the cut-off date) after January 1, 2000. Hence though the slum technically qualifies to be resettled, the slum dweller cannot be. If we need to resettle the entire lot of 80,000 slums, a major policy change will have to be made. Now it is for the state government to take the final call on the issue since MMRDA’s role in the project is only of a facilitator,” said Asthana.
Of the 80,000 slums, the first priority is to clear a lot of 18,000. “These slums are on an area which is defined as the aeronautical zone. According to the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), these slums will have to be removed on priority basis. However, there is no formal deadline set for the removal of these slums,” informed Asthana.
Interestingly, another MMRDA project — the Sahar elevated road connecting the Western Express Highway (WEH) with the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Sahar is getting affected by the slums near the airport. According to MMRDA chief engineer SR Nandargikar, around 600 odd slums in Bamanwada, Ambedkar Nagar and Rajaram Wadi which are parallel to the WEH will have to be removed. “The problem is many of them don’t comply with the cut-off date of January 1, 2000. However, the authority is trying to find a way out,” Nandargikar told DNA.
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