CM promises cluster scheme in Thane soon

WHAT IS CLUSTER REDEVELOPMENT?

MUMBAI: Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan promised the Shiv Sena delegation led by its chief Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday that the cluster redevelopment scheme would be announced in Thane district within a month.

Nearly 95 people have died this year in building collapses in Thane, which has more than 10,000 illegal buildings, and cluster redevelopment is being touted as the most viable solution. The Sena, which has a major presence in the region, had taken a protest march on the issue from Thane to Mantralaya.

Chavan, nudged by Congress legislators worried about Sena’s one-upmanship, is also likely to visit illegal buildings in Thane and meet the distressed people.

However, many feel Chavan’s assurance should be taken with a pinch of salt. In the budget session of the state legislature in April, following the collapse of a building in Mumbra, Chavan had announced that a cluster redevelopment scheme — integrated development of a locality, where infrastructure is developed along with residential buildings — for entire the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). He said a separate cluster policy would be announced for MMR. But, there has been no move on this matter from the Chavan-led urban development department for the last five months.

In fact, a committee led by UDD secretary Manu Kumar Srivastav has been fine-tuning cluster redevelopment norms for Mumbai for nearly a year now.

Sena legislator Pratap Sarnaik told HT that the people are tired of assurances and want concrete action. “More than 70% of the buildings in this region are illegal and are in dilapidated condition. We have to undertake the cluster scheme to save the lives of the people who have been living here for decades,” he said