Ganpat Patil Slums to be removed

New Link Road Forums efforts to remove slums and restore precious mangroves continue:

‘Dahisar hutments pose a risk to environment’

Linah Baliga TNN 8^th January 2013

Mumbai: A slum has been festering in a coastal regulatory zone in Dahisar despite the best efforts of locals, activists and even Corporators to remove it. The 8,000 shanties of Ganpat Patil Nagar on Link Road, Dahisar, apart from being an eyesore, are causing immense environmental damage since they have encroached on vast tracts of mangroves.

Huge sprawl of slums and bus parking on CRZ at Borivali West off Link Road

“In 1995, there were just 198 shanties. The names of their owners are on the electoral roll. Since then, illegal hutments kept proliferating in the area till the BMC razed the structures in 2003. But the activity started again right afterwards,” said Abhishek Ghosalkar, a Corporator. “The main occupants of the slum are migrants from Bangladesh and Nepal.”
“The slum is politically supported. There are 36 stay orders from Dindoshi courts on matters where encroachers produced fake documents. Water and power thefts are rampant. The slum is in touching distance of Gorai creek and is thus vulnerable to nefarious and anti-national activities,” said Harishchandra Pandey, chairperson, New Link Road Residents’ Forum.

He had filed a PIL in 2010 against the illegal constructions, which are in CRZ-I areas, and have also depleted mangrove cover. “We got two orders that no non-forest activity harmful to the environment should be carried out. There was also an effort to implement an SRA scheme, for which a survey was conducted. We opposed it because it was to come up on CRZ-I land.”
On Monday, the municipal commissioner met a delegation of Corporators, assuring them that the BMC will start demolishing the shanties from January 10 onwards.

DAHISAR
    In 1995, there were 198 shanties in Ganpat Patil Nagar on Link Road, Dahisar. The names of the occupants are on the electoral roll
    As of 2012, approximately 8,000 illegal shanties have come up in the same area on coastal regulatory zone (CRZ-I) land
    Water and power thefts have increased in the area with the proliferation of slums
    In 2010, Harishchandra Pandey, chairperson, New Link Road Residents’ Forum, and other Dahisar residents filed a PIL against the illegal constructions, which had encroached on mangrove land in Ganpat Patil Nagar
    Abhishek Ghosalkar, a corporator, resolved to go on a hunger strike in front of municipal commissioner Sitaram Kunte’s office from January 7 to seek the removal of approximately 8,000 shanties
    On Monday, Kunte issued an order to demolish the illegal shanties, starting from January 10, 2013
    The work will be carried out by 200 civic employees from the three R wards and 80 police personnel
    After the demolition, the spot will be checked twice a month