A group of slum dwellers will soon know — probably for the first time in their lives — if any of them have vertigo or not. About 2,500 families, hitherto residing in hutments at MP Mill Compound in Tardeo, will now be accommodated in several buildings, ranging from seven to 21 storeys.

Apart from the 21-storey which is ready for 215 families to move in, three 10-storey, four 16-storey and four seven-storey buildings will be constructed as part of a slum rehabilitation scheme, jointly promoted by developers Shapoorji Pallonji and Dilip Thacker under the banner SD Corporation.

The incentive of 2.5 FSI given under the Slum Redevelopment Authority (SRA) scheme will translate into two 60-storey residential towers, making them the country’s tallest buildings. The developers have already begun work on the two skyscrapers, partitioned away from the slumrises by a compound wall, with ultra-modern amenities. Flats in the 60-storey buildings — called The Imperial — each flat would cost around Rs45 crore, or about Rs22,000 a sq ft.

The buildings that will accommodate the slum dwellers would also have amenities, including a garden. A spokesperson for SD Corporation said, ``Apart from the normal lift, we are providing them with stretcher lifts as in hospitals.

We will maintain them for 10 years. We are also providing them with adequate open space. We have also constructed a seven-storey building with space of 8,000 sq ft to hold social events. The earnings from leasing out this premise will then subsidise the maintenance cost of the buildings after ten years.’’

SD Corporation is not the only one who is constructing high rises to rehabilitate slum dwellers under the SRA scheme. Akruti City is constructing a 13- and a 16-storey buildings to rehabilitate slum dwellers of Tulsiwadi at Girgaum and Saiwadi at Andheri (east).

Hemant Shah, chairman of Akruti City, said, ``Considering that land is in such short supply, we have no option but to construct highrises. We are providing Rs20,000 per flat towards the corpus fund of the cooperative society for maintenance of the complex.’’

A member of Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centres (SPARC), a reputed NGO known for its work in slums, said the move to rehabilitate slum dwellers in high rises was a bad decision.

``A majority of the slum dwellers are poor vegetable vendors or who run cottage industries like making papads, etc. Even if the developers are giving Rs20,000, how will this poor people be able to maintain the high maintenance costs when they can barely meet two ends meet?’’ he asked.