MHADA residents say workers appointed by the municipal body are asking for Rs 1,000 to clear demolition drive debris to prevent water-logging of roads; Ranjeet Jadhav follows BMC trucks and sees them off-load the debris at a private construction site, instead of government landfill
MHADA residents say workers appointed by the municipal body are asking for Rs 1,000 to clear demolition drive debris to prevent water-logging of roads; Ranjeet Jadhav follows BMC trucks and sees them off-load the debris at a private construction site, instead of government landfill
Workers appointed by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, who are on a three week-long demolition drive of illegal floors at SVP Nagar in Andheri (W), are reportedly dumping the debris in a private construction site, instead of the government landfill in Deonar, giving rise to speculation that they are trying to make a quick buck by selling the debris to private builders. The BMC has been carrying out a demolition drive at SVP Nagar since May 9, to remove the illegal floors constructed by the tenants of the 98 MHADA societies. Till date, illegal constructions of 70 societies have been demolished. Each society has 31 row houses.
Assistant Municipal Commissioner Ramesh Pawar visits SVP Nagar on
Saturday. Illegal floors constructed by residents of 98 MHADA societies
in this locality are being demolished. Pics/ Nimesh Dave
With rains lashing the city for the past four days, residents of the area are keen that the debris is cleared, failing which it would lead to severe water-logging of the roads. However, several residents have alleged that the BMC is not doing its job, leading them to hire private contractors, who charge between Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,500 per truckload of debris, since May 15. Close to 20 private contractors have reportedly been hired by various groups of residents.
MiD DAY reporter Ranjeet Jadhav follows BMC truck (MH 04 EY1627)
filled with construction debris after it leaves SVP Nagar on Saturday
morning.
Not only is this burning a hole in their pocketsu00a0-- at least 100 truckloads are needed to clear the debris produced by the demolition of one society's illegal constructionsu00a0-- it is also leading to corrupt practices by the workers appointed by the BMC, say residents. "As the BMC was not clearing the debris lying on the road outside our building, we hired a private contractor to do the job and paid him Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000 per truckload. After learning of this, a BMC-appointed contractor who is transporting debris from the society adjacent to ours, told us that if we give him Rs 1,000 per truckload, he will clear the debris by working round the clock," said a resident, who did not wish to be named.
Instead of off-loading the debris at a government landfill such as Deonar,
the truck drops it off at a private construction site in Chembur
"The BMC-appointed workers have started asking for money in the past one week. They are cashing in on the fact that the residents are keen to have the debris cleared as soon as possible since the monsoon has already hit the city," the resident added. The BMC has appointed two private contractors to carry out the demolition at a cost of Rs 2.68 crore. The demolition squad is supposed to clear the debris while simultaneously carrying out the demolition drive. According to the residents, the contractors are willing to send their trucks to clear the debris after 10 pm, but for a sum.
What's more, the BMC trucks are supposed to dump the debris at the government landfill in Deonar, but as Sunday MiDDAY found out, there serious malpractices are underway. "The BMC trucks are transporting the debris from SVP Nagar to dumping grounds outside the city and to BMC dumping grounds in the city," claimed Assistant Municipal Commissioner of K West ward Ramesh Pawar. On Saturday morning, Pawar even visited Andheri to review the state of the demolition drive. In his presence, two BMC trucks were loaded and sent offu00a0-- however, they made their way to Chembur, instead of Deonar.
This reporter followed the BMC trucks leaving SVP Nagar on Saturday morning (see timeline) and saw them off-load the demolition debris at a private construction site in Sidharth Nagar, Chembur. A source present at the site told this reporter that these trucks visit the site 12 times a day. "Everyday, at least 10 to 12 trucks come here to dump the debris and increase the height of the low-lying land," said the source, who requested anonymity, as he feared losing his job.
If that wasn't bad enough, residents who have hired private contractors allege that they are dumping the debris in the mangroves behind Lokhandwala Complex, and BMC officials are aware of it. "No one has come forward and complained about any such incident. But if residents come to us and prove that BMC officials are demanding money to remove the debris from the area, I will suspend those officials immediately," Pawar said.
Pawar has asked the workers to finish the demolition by June 14 and clear the debris simultaneously. Pawar is required to send a project status report to the Supreme Court by the second week of June.
In December 2010, the BMC began a demolition drive in the MHADA colonies in Adarsh Nagar, Laxmi Industrial Estate and two of the 98 societies of SVP Nagar that had not entered into any re-development plan with private developers. However, SVP Nagar residents approached the Supreme Court in January asking for a stay order and filed affidavits stating that they themselves would demolish the illegal structures by April 30. Since they failed to do so, the BMC began a demolition drive in the locality on May 9.
Lost in transit
10.30 am: BMC starts filling up two yellow trucks with debris near KPS School at SVP Nagar with the help of a bulldozer.
11.30 am: BMC Assistant Municipal Commissioner Ramesh Pawar arrives at the spot to inspect the work.
12.45 pm: Both trucks are loaded, leave SVP Nagar. Sunday MiD DAY begins to follow them. They take the Western Express Highway to Bandra, then take the Eastern Express Highway.
2.10 pm: Both reach a private construction site in Chembur and off-load.
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