Last week, a delegation of the slum dwellers led by Republican Party of India (RPI) leader, Parshuram Wadekar, met civic chief Mahesh Pathak to discuss the matter.
The 10,000-odd residents of Padalvasti slums in Bopodi have turned down the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) offer to rehabilitate them in far off areas like Hadapsar and Warje.
Last week, a delegation of the slum dwellers led by Republican Party of India (RPI) leader, Parshuram Wadekar, met civic chief Mahesh Pathak to discuss the matter.
The delegation pointed out to Pathak the presence of the large tract of reserved land to provide housing to economically weaker section (EWS) of society in Bopodi. In a scathing attack on the municipal commissioner’s proposal for resettlement of the slum dwellers, Wadekar reminded him of the rules of the slum rehabilitation authority (SRA).
“Under the SRA scheme, rehabilitation has to be carried out within a distance of 5 km of the site of displacement. We pointed out that his proposal of resettlement would mean a complete disruption of the livelihood of the slum dwellers and asked him to reconsider his decision,” Wadekar told DNA.
“We have rejected Pathak’s proposal of resettlement to far flung parts of the city,” he added.
Wadekar asked the civic chief to acquire the reserved land right next to Padalvasti, for providing housing to EWS. “In order to push for our demands, we will be meeting Pathak on Monday again,” he said.
DNA had highlighted the threat to the reserved land, from the super luxurious housing project of Avinash Bhosale Infrastructure Ltd (ABIL), Castel Royale, in a series of reports since May 25.
ABIL executive director, Amit Bhosale, in a written statement to DNA, had categorically stated that the company had no intention of changing any reservation.
However, the civic chief is yet to take a decision in the matter.
This slum has been in existence for the last 30 years and was recognised by the PMC in 1984, making the residents eligible for rehabilitation by the SRA.
The civic body had also provided water connection to the slum.
However, in April this year, the army authorities had served eviction notices to the slum dwellers, claiming that the land was army property. In response to the eviction notices, the slum dwellers had approached the district court, which stayed the eviction till June 30.
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