Chawl tenants to get back homes after 30 years

After a 30-year wait, the dream of 160 families to get back their homes took a concrete shape on Friday. The Bombay High Court directed Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) to complete redevelopment of Gulam Mohammed Chawl in Lower Parel, pending since 1978, within 30 months and rehabilitate the original tenants.

In 1978, MHADA decided to reconstruct the dilapidated Gulam Mohammad Chawl. The 160 families residing there were shifted to transit accommodations across the city. The redevelopment project was delayed as MHADA decided to take up the redevelopment of an adjacent plot, which had to be de-reserved.

While the de-reservation process was being undertaken, 12 persons encroached upon the chawl land. When MHADA tried to evict them, they got an order from the slum tribunal stating that MHADA would have to first rehabilitate them and then proceed with the project.

Litigation initiated by the encroachers resulted in a status quo order, which held up the project. “This is a classic case of encroachers holding a redevelopment project to ransom at the cost of lawful tenants,” Associate Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni, who represented MHADA, told the court on Friday. 

Justice SB Mhase and Justice DG Karnik gave MHADA the go-ahead to begin the redevelopment and accepted MHADA’s proposal to provide transit accommodation to the 12 encroachers till the case was decided.