With the BMC set to demolish 60 year-old houses in Malad for road widening, East Indian residents say they can't be treated like slum dwellers and evicted without proper rehabilitation elsewhere
Stephen Patel and his daughter were kicked out of their home early on Tuesday morning
Residents who have called Kharodi Gaothan home for over 60 years are fuming that the BMC is tearing down their hamlet like it's nothing more than a slum colony, rather than a part of Mumbai's heritage. The locals are upset that the authorities are offering them tiny slum rehab apartments in return for their ancestral homes. To add insult to injury, civic officials started demolition on June 12, leaving them without a roof in the middle of the monsoon.
The 60-odd houses are to be demolished in a bid to widen Malad's Marve road. The home owners say these houses are part of a gaothan that has existed for over 60 years, and tearing them down will result in loss of Mumbai's heritage. They're even more upset that they're being pushed out of their roomy cottages and offered cramped flats under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA).
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The BMC began demolition at Malad's Kharodi gaothan on Tuesday morning. Pics/Sameer Markande
"We are not averse to the idea of widening the road, but we certainly do not want to be tagged as slum dwellers. On top of that, the BMC is demolishing in the monsoon. They came at 8 am and dumped all our belongings outside. When we asked them to produce court orders, they did not do so," said Stephen Patel, whose home was among two structures demolished on June 12.
The owners of both houses had approached the court a few months ago for proper compensation, at which point, the court had stayed any demolition action. BMC officials claimed that the court later vacated the stay order. However, home owners said officials from the P-north ward did not issue a 24-hour vacation notice or even show them the court order copy allowing the demolition action.
What's the rush?
"The BMC is not going to do any road work in the rains, so why the hurry to demolish the houses? The authorities do not dare to touch real encroachers without providing alternative accommodation. How can they take away the ancestral homes of residents living here for decades, right in the middle of the monsoon?" questioned Greg Pereira, another resident.
According to Bhavesh Gala, who also has been served notice to vacate, there's an ulterior motive at play. "We live in houses that measure over 600 to 700 square feet, and all that we are being offered is a 270-square-foot house. The BMC's intention is to declare the gaothan a slum, for the benefit of developers. Once we are evicted, there is no guarantee that we will be compensated for the true worth of our houses," he alleged.
'Don't want to move'
The BMC claimed that they do not have a separate resettlement policy for gaothans, but they will offer more SRA flats to make up for the square footage lost.
To this, Pereira said, "There should be a separate policy for gaothans, and we deserve to be treated properly, not like slum dwellers. I have written to the chief minister for his intervention." Patel added, "The BMC has not informed us that they are willing to make up for the loss of square footage. Besides, moving us anywhere else will take us away from our community and village."
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