MMRDA FLATS OR TRANSIT CAMPS

Decision may speed up evacuation process of residents living in dangerous or dilapidated buildings

Sitting over his own announcement for around a month, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan has finally given an in-principle nod to use the 50 percent flats available with the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA) as transit camps for families who have been evacuated from dangerous and dilapidated buildings. This may speed up the evacuation process of residents from dangerous buildings living in Mumbai and Thane.

The Chief Minister had given an assurance to the legislative assembly in the monsoon session on July 26. But he took almost a month to sanction this inprinciple on paper. Now the MMRDA Commissioner has directed to complete the process and take a decision accordingly. Under the rental housing scheme, few flats were being given to the MMRDA. Now, half of these flats will be used as transit camps for families who have been evacuated from dangerous and dilapidated buildings.

If the transit camps are unavailable during the process of evacuation and after evacuation in Municipal area, then on the request of the metropolitan commissioner, the available flats with the MMRDA will be made available to the Municipal Commissioner.

The transit camps will be rented out at a rent of rupee one per square metre for a period of 30 years to the Municipal Commissioner. Then only the families that have been evacuated from dangerous and dilapidated buildings can be given a place in the transit camps on a temporary and rental basis. The rents of the transit camps will be decided by the Municipal commissioner and the rent will be used for the maintenance and repairs of the building.