MHADA colonies face another demolition

HC's extension for residents of colonies in Andheri, Jogeshwari ends in a fortnight. BMC says it will begin razing illegal structures again on May 1

After razing nearly 1,500 illegal structures in MHADA colonies in Adarsh Nagar, Laxmi Industrial Estate and SVP Nagar in Andheri in December, the BMC has warned that the steamrollers will be let loose in the areas again if the residents do not bring down the illegal portions of their houses in the next fortnight. April 30 was set as a deadline by the High Court in December after some of the tenants from SVP Nagar approached it requesting for some time and assured the court that they would demolish the illegal portions of their MHADA houses themselves.


Time's ticking away: The BMC will the let the steamrollers loose in
Andheri and the surrounding areas if the residents do not bring down the
illegal portions of their houses before the deadline. file pic

Speaking to MiD DAY, Vitthal Patel, a resident of Disha Cooperative Housing Society in SVP Nagar, said, "After the demolition drive began, we approached the High Court and filed an affidavit promising that we would demolish the illegal portions by April 30. Since the last date is fifteen days away, I have decided to start the demolition of the illegal floor of my house by next week so that there is no contempt of the court's decision."

There are 98 societies in SVP Nagar and each society has nearly 31 members. "I have already told the family staying on the upper floor of my house to vacate by April 20, because I don't want any legal trouble as the time granted by the honourable court to carry out the demolition ends on April 30," said another resident.

Assistant Municipal Commissioner Ramesh Pawar said, "As per the court's orders, people living in SVP Nagar MHADA colony and in adjacent areas should bring down the illegal portions of their houses by April 30. We will check if the residents have done so and will begin demolition again by May 1 if they haven't."

Rs 2.68 cr
The amount spent by the BMC on December's demolition drive, which was one of the biggest such drives so far

Progress
December's demolition drive was carried out in those societies that had not chalked out a redevelopment plan. "96 of the 98 societies have now given their consent for redevelopment to developers. The builders have submitted the proposal to the relevant authority, but not even one proposal has been cleared so far," said Ajay Kadu, a resident of SVP Nagar.