Show rehab plan, then conduct survey, Sahar villagers tell MMRDA team
Despite several attempts to conduct the survey to determine number of families eligible for rehabilitation, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) on Wednesday was again denied permission to conduct the survey at Sahar village at Tankpakhadi on Wednesday due to intervention by slum-dwellers.
Demanding the rehabilitation plan, the slum-dwellers at Sahar village on Wednesday did not permit the officials who are struggling to complete the survey to determine number of families eligible for rehabilitation and who are currently occupying the land around Mumbai’s international airport.
Around 300 slum-dwellers blocked the area and were demanding the officials to show them the rehabilitation plan before conducting the survey.
However, the officials were following the orders given by higher authorities of conducting the biometric survey and later preparing a rehabilitation plan for slum dwellers.
The survey began in May 2016 after the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis issued orders making the Additional District Collector of Mumbai (Encroachment) authorised to identify the slumdwellers who have illegally occupied the land surrounding Mumbai’s International Airport.
The MMRDA is also assisting Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) in rehabilitating the slumdwellers. An MMRDA official said, “Since the slums are illegally constructed on the airport land, they feel that notices would be issued to them to vacate the place. Hence, our survey is getting delayed because our visits cause panic among them.”
As per the plan, 114 acres of land needs to be cleared for airport developmental works. In the first phase under the rehabilitation plan, only 24 acres of land out of 114 acres would be rehabilitated as a priority.