Govt employees demand houses from the govt

Mumbai, Mar 27 (UNI) The state government employees, residing in the government quarters at Bandra East in suburban Mumbai, are demanding houses from the government and have planned a ''Mook Morcha (silent march)'' on April 7 to the suburban collector's office.

Addressing reporters, Vilas Dalvi, the president of the Government Quarters Resident Employees Association (GQREA), today said that the state government has given free houses under SRA and other schemes to the slum dwellers who had illegally occupied government land.

The employees are willing to pay the price of the houses to the government as per the ready reckoner, he said.

''The IPS and IAS officers have received plots from the government at very low rates and the same can be done for the lower class state government officials,'' said Dalvi.

The members of the GQREA have surveyed the area and found that the government colony has a total area of 124 acres out which 28 acres has been gobbled up by the builders and the government for their various schemes and is left with only 96 acres.

General Secretary of the association Rajesh Jadhav said, ''The government can develop the area on its own which has many government administrative buildings. This will save the government from a very big work as it can earn a huge revenue by selling the remaining plots after developing it, thereby, earning a very huge revenue.'' Jadhav added that the government employees will pay for the houses, which will earn the government a sum of Rs 60-70 crore for the 4,932 houses built for them which will occupy only 1/3rd of the total available land.

A proposal regarding the redevelopment of the government land and providing houses to the government employees was submitted to Chief Minister August 27 last year and there has been no response.

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