While MMRDA had rehabilitated dwellers during the expansion of N S Phadke Road in Juhu in 2006, BMC says it cannot extend the courtesy to these families now
In a move that will probably make lives easier for thousands of suburban commuters, civic authorities will be expanding N S Phadke Road in Juhu, soon.
BMC’s N S Phadke Road expansion plans may lead to demolition of several housing structures. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar
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“The total length of the road will be increased by 30 feet to make it a uniform 120 feet road, as per directions from the High Court. The expansion process should be over in the next six months,” said Vicky Sharma, junior engineer, Maintenance Dept, K/West ward.
The expansion, however, comes at a price — 248 huts/housing structures may be demolished, a move that could leave many homeless. The residents, including many who have been living there since 1960, were issued a notice on Tuesday by the BMC. They have been asked to vacate the premises within seven working days, “failing which the said structure and all things deposited thereon will be removed…without further notice”.
Blame game
Significantly, the Deputy Collector’s Office has deemed not a single household out of the 248 eligible for alternate accommodation. Why? The reason is a blame game between MMRDA and BMC. Apparently, MMRDA, which had conceptualized the road in 2006, had deemed households eligible for relocation. But the BMC, which was handed over the project in 2011, cannot grant the same benefit to the same people again.
”When MMRDA developed a 120 feet road in 2006, they didn’t do it as per demarcations of the Development Planning (DP) department. The road is 120 feet only from the SV Road junction to the BMW showroom, located below the west end of the East-West flyover. The rest of it ranges from 90-100 feet,” said Sharma.
He added, “BMC offers accommodation only when we take on a project from its onset. If you have been deemed eligible for accommodation by one authority, the other cannot grant you the privilege again.” Residents, who have been served the notice, however, have a different story to share.
According to them, in 2005, almost 1,050 settlements were cleared out, their households relocated to Jogeshwari, under MMRDA’s authority. But the remaining 248 structures were told the expansion plans would only 'partially affect' them, so they chose to stay back.
Sallamudin Patel, one of the residents who stayed back, said, “My shop remained intact during the 2006 expansion as it wasn’t coming in the way of the 120 feet road, as was told to me to by MMRDA authorities back then. Today, BMC is asking us to vacate the premises.”
Another resident, Firoz Patel said, “People who were unaffected in 2006 were deemed eligible for accommodation. If we were eligible back then, why is accommodation being denied to us now?” He rued that despite applying to the Deputy Collector’s Office last year, none of the 248 households had been cleared for relocation.
MMRDA Joint Project Director Dilip Kawatkar said, “As per our Resettlement and Rehabilitation policy we have already rehabilitated the Project Affected People. I can’t comment on the project’s latest developments, as it’s not under our agency.”
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