‘HC order on cluster development will bring huge investment’

The city has many buildings that are either illegal or dangerous. The face of city will surely change for better with this good decision. The congestion in the areas like Mumbra, Naupada, Wagale will be eased. There is a possibility of investment of five

The Bombay High Court's order vacating the stay on the proposed FSI for cluster redevelopment projects comes as a great relief for the lakhs of residents in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai.

Thane has almost 5.5 lakh residents residing in either illegal or dangerous buildings. These buildings were built many years back and without any planning. The city has witnessed many mishaps of building collapse and people loosing their lives. Hence, it was a necessity for the city and for that, Thane Municipal Corporation had already submitted the impact assessment report to the High Court in 2014.

Now that, the city has got the nod for redevelopment, the scenario will change drastically believes developers.

There will be investment of five to ten thousand crores of rupees, claims the leading developers.

"This city has many buildings that are either illegal or dangerous. The face of city will surely change for better with this good decision. The congestion in the areas like Mumbra, Naupada, Wagale will be eased. There is a possibility of investment of five to ten ten thousand crore rupees due to the cluster decision," believes Jitendra Mehata, secretary of Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI).

The Thane Municipal Corporation had done its survey long back and had selected eight areas that are in need of sudden development. These areas are Kisan Nagar no.1 and 2, Rabodi, Manisha Nagar, Mumbra Anand Koliwada, Mumbra, Bombay Colony, Kausa Kabristan and Shankar Madir..

" Once we get the G.R from government, we will start working on Detailed Project Report (DPR) for eight clusters we had surveyed. We had already submitted the impact assessment report, so we will work accordingly," said Sanjeev Jayswal, Commissioner of Thane Municipal Corporation.

There are total 3693 dangerous buildings out of which, 2784 are illegal. Over 69,792 families are staying in these buildings. Therefore, it was necessary to take the solid step, and people residing in buildings are awaiting impatiently for their new home.

"I have been staying in Thane since last 50 years. We used to leave in chawl, later my husband bought this house in a building at Wagle because it was cheaper. Later He died and we received the notice that this building is illegal. With mere income, its not possible for us to go anywhere else, so the decision is good for us," said Rafidevi, a vegetables vendor in Thane.

'We bought this house in Mumbra 30 years back. This was a beautiful location just below the hills. But the building was later declared as dangerous. The new decision is good for us as we can move to a safer place," said Anwar Sheikh, a Mumbra resident.

With several illegal and dangerous buildings, Mumbra, Wagle Estate, Kisan Nagar are the most sensitive areas.