Locals protest PAP plan in Mulund

Public interest litigation filed in Bombay High Court, seeking termination of the proposal; more than 4 lakh homes planned for PAPs related to Dharavi redevelopment plan

Scores of people, mostly Mulund (East) residents, on Sunday formed a silent human chain to protest against the project-affected persons (PAP) projects, including the one related to the Dharavi redevelopment plan. Organised by Advocate Sagar Devre near the Sambhaji ground, the agitation demanded to withdraw the proposal of rehabilitating PAPs on the land near the Kelkar College in Mulund (East). Devre, who has also filed a public interest litigation in the Bombay High Court seeking termination of the project, is the convenor of the protest.

Apart from the Dharavi redevelopment PAP which aims to construct more than four lakh houses, Mulundkars also opposed the plan to build 7,439 homes for people who have illegally occupied footpaths and nullahs of Mumbai. Besides Mulund East and West residents, over 200 people also came in buses from Hari Om Nagar where the state government has planned to resettle PAP on 83 acres of land.

Forming a human chain on both sides of the road, the agitators held placards with slogans like 'PAP hatao Mulund bachao', 'Stop the PAP

project, else do not come seeking votes' and 'Mulundkars have decided to shun elections'. “The project will put an unreasonable burden on Mulund's civic sources and infrastructure. No political party is involved in this agitation, it was organised and carried out solely by Mulund citizens, who will be ultimately affected by the project,” Devre said while addressing

the crowd.

“The projects are not at all justifiable for even the people for whom these are constructed. It will be very difficult for them to maintain homes in such high-rise towers. They will sell or rent these homes illegally and again set up houses on footpaths and nullahs,” said Mulund resident Gangadhar Tulsankar, an active participant of the agitation,

while addressing the protestors. “Mulund is an area of higher middle class people, who pay heavy income tax to the government. Utilising their hardearned money for these kinds of projects will be injustice on their part,” said a woman.

Over the last many years Mulund (East) has been deprived of civic amenities like parks, hospital, petrol pump,

etc. “It will be better if a nature park is constructed on the site and indigenous trees are planted for the citizens of Mulund (East), which is in need of a green lung,” said another participant.

Navghar Road police station senior Inspector Madan Patil, who was overseeing the law and order situation at the site, said, “The protest was by and large peaceful.”