661 slums razed in Santacruz

After 21 court orders, the government finally got down to clearing slums from the Guzdar Bandh area on Sakaram B Patil Marg in Santacruz(W).

On Monday and Tuesday, 661 slums on nullahs in the area were demolished, bringing a ray of hope to the Guzdar Scheme’s Residents’ Trust (GSRT).

The trust has been complaining about the slums for five years. And it took 21 court orders since April 2001 for the government to finally take notice.

“We have demolished 661 slums since yesterday (Monday). We are following court orders; the last hearing was on January 12 and we were told to demolish the slums immediately,” said B B Gawli, deputy collector (encroachment), Bandra. The mushrooming of slums on nullahs had become a cause for concern for locals, as sewage water had started entering their homes.

Trupti Patel, trustee, GSRT, said, “The proliferation of slums was affecting the residential areas. The slums were blocking the flow of water into the sea. The four nullahs were choked with garbage. The nullahs were blocked by 1,000 huts on their either sides. Moreover, sluice gates to open/close the nullahs were also destroyed. As a result, our buildings were getting flooded even during high tide, let alone during monsoon.

Sometimes even sewage water entered our homes. On July 26 last year, during floods, our area was the worst affected.”

Patel said the trust was not against the slum-dwellers, but they had no other option as the slums were affecting residential areas. GSRT chairman Gautam Rao said, “It is a moment of triumph for us as it is the first major step in resolving this battle we’ve been fighting for years.”

Now, only the issue of sluice gates, which were destroyed in June 2000, remained, Patel said. “But they will be re-installed before the monsoon,” he said.

Since 2001, the government has demolished over 1,300 slums in the area.

Asked if the government planned to rehabilitate the displaced slum-dwellers, Gawli said, “We have rehabilitated around 315 slum-dwellers, who had settled before 1995, at Anik Nagar in Chembur.”