HC Relief for 160 families, after 30 years wait

Mumbai, July 6 (UNI) A ray of hope appeared today at the end of the tunnel for 160 families from a Lower Parel chawl as the road was cleared today for their own houses, after a prolonged wait of nearly 30 years, with the Bombay High Court permitting Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) to complete the project rehabilitating them.

A division bench of Justice S B Mhase and D G Karnik vacated status quo granted earlier and permitted MHADA to reconstruct 'Gulam Mohammad Chawl' in Lower Parel, directing MHADA to complete the redevelopment, which was pending since almost last 30 years, within 30 months period.

MHADA had decided in 1978 to reconstruct dilapidated 'Gulam Mohammad Chawl'. Accordingly the chawl was brought down and all 160 families residing there were shifted to various transit camps in Mumbai in November 1978. But problems started to arise when MHADA officers changed their plan and decided to take up the redevelopment project including adjacent plot, dereserving of which took several years.

In the meantime, 12 persons encroached the land and that further prolonged redevelopment of the Chawl, as they had obtained protection from the slum tribunal, which had directed MHADA to first rehabilitate them and then only to proceed with the project.

Petitions filed by MHADA as well as the original residents of the chawl, challenging the tribunal order and and cross petitions from the encroachers, were pending before the court since long and the status quo order had held up the project.

Finally, Associate Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni today proposed a way out. The court accepted his proposal to allow MHADA to comence redevelopment work and keep aside 12 tenaments in the proposed buildings for the encroachers, which would be handed over to them in case court ruling goes in their favour. The proposal also includes to provide transit accomodation to the encroachers till the matter is finaly decided.

UNI