Redevelopment breeding divisions among Mumbai residents

Mumbai is renowned as a melting pot of various groups, irrespective of class, caste and creed. But a new, disturbing form of disparity is now eating its way into citizens’ lives, especially in redeveloped buildings and townships. Several of these housing societies are imposing invisible divisions based on the size of the house owned and the length of the resident’s occupancy.

In the townships, owners of bigger flats are looking down upon those possessing smaller ones; in redeveloping buildings, older residents sneer at the flashy ways of their new neighbours. And the newer occupants always find it difficult to acclimatise to the conservative ways of the old lot. Miten Shah, resident of Bandra, previously stayed at Vashi, Navi Mumbai, where he found it difficult to adapt to the constant jibes passed by his neighbours.

“When I bought a Mercedes, my neighbours said I was unnecessary flaunting my wealth. I was really annoyed and fed up with them,” he said.

 To avoid further clashes, Shah stopped attending society meetings and functions. “We decided to shift at Bandra recently, and I’m much happier here, thanks to a better neighbourhood and friend circle,” Shah added.

Deepak Wani, resident of Thane, has a different experience to share. He said the 3- and 4-BHK flat occupants do not treat the 1-BHK flat owners properly. “We may not be rich, but this does not mean we should be treated badly. The affluent residents of our society pass insulting comments whenever we attend society meetings. To make us feel small, they always conduct the society meetings in English rather than in Hindi or Marathi.

They said we were slum dwellers earlier and now stay in apartment. How can they discriminate against us based on accumulation of wealth?” he said. Another resident of Ghatkopar, whose ground-plus-four storey building was demolished to construct a high-rise tower, said the developer had dumped the old residents in one building and sold the big flats of another building.

“The new residents feel we are culturally conservative and financially backward people,” he said, requesting anonymity. “The new residents never mix with the old ones. They even have functions to which we are not invited. People have bigger houses now, but their mentality is still colonial in independent India.”

 Manohar Shroff, managing director of Shivam Developers, said, “These conflicts create an inferiority complex in minds of small-flat owners. The clashes generally happen because of parking issues and different lifestyles. I think people should live amicably. We are all Indian citizens,” he said.

 Vinod Sampat, who specialises in co-operative law, said, “New occupants are usually affluent and they dominate old residents by use of money. The domination depends on the majority - if the old residents or small-flat owners are in a majority, then they dictate terms in the society. But this conflict should be stopped for the sake of a better society,” he said.