ACTIVISTS SEE RED OVER GREEN

ACTIVISTS SEE RED OVER GREEN [Article in the Times of India 24^th January 2014]

PROPOSAL FOR SLUM
    Govt plans to regularize the massive 49-acre Ganpat Patil Nagar slum colony at Dahisar, which is built on wetlands
    It has invited objections and suggestions from the public for the purpose
    Additional collector (encroachments) under the state housing department says it wants to regularize the colony as its residents live in unhygienic conditions
    The proposal has come up despite the fact that of its 8,000 hutments, only 200 fulfil Jan 1, 1995, cut-off for legal status eligibility under Maharashtra Slum Areas Act, 1971 and that also cannot apply for CRZ-1.
    Govt move comes after a Dec 2013 HC order that directed it to prohibit construction on or reclamation of wetlands

COLONY, AT A GLANCE
The Dahisar hutments began to sprout in early 1990s, though the exact date is not available.

Figure 1 High resolution satellite image of year 2000 of CRZ-1 destruction

Figure 2 Increased destruction visible in 2009 Satellite image

Number of slum dwellers | Approximately 8,000
Number of units in existence before Jan 1995 cut-off for legal status eligibility | 200
Total area occupied | At 49 acres, it is twice as large as Shivaji Park, which is spread over 27 acres; and almost double the size of Oval Maidan, which measures 22 acres
THE RULEBOOK
UNION GOVERNMENT’S STANCE | In 2000, the Union govt carried out a survey of mangrove wetlands through satellite imagery and asked all state govts to take steps to protect them
COURT RULING | In Dec 2013, the Bombay high court, on a PIL jointly filed by environment NGO Vanashakti and New Link Road Residents’ Forum, directed the government to prohibit any construction or reclamation of wetlands. The state environment department is yet to issue directions following the court order

TIMES VIEW: This is nothing but vote-bank politics. If large swathes of environmentally sensitive spaces are first allowed to be encroached upon and then regularized, then why tear down illegally-constructed middle-class buildings? Because they don’t add up to as many votes? This city is being destroyed before our eyes.

SOME OF THE RESIDENTS WHO HAVE CAMPAIGNED AGAINST THE SLUM TAKEOVER

We want slum dwellers to be rehabilitated, but not at the cost of the environment and definitely not by violating rules. These slums are located within the 50-metre buffer zone of wetlands and fall under Coastal Regulation Zone I
Harish Pandey | SECRETARY, NEW LINK ROAD RESIDENTS’ FORUM

If these slums are legalized, the move will encourage encroachment in other CRZ areas as well. Political parties, which had promised protection of mangroves in their election manifesto, are now doing exactly the opposite. They are setting a dangerous precedent
Dr. S P Mathew | CHAIRMAN OF THE FORUM

There was a move earlier in 2010 to regularize the slums, but the high court stayed the SRA scheme following a PIL filed by the forum. Documents gleaned through Right to Information Act also reveal the civic body had, in the past, refused to provide civic infrastructure to the slum, thereby restricting its growth — David Soosay

In 2003, the civic body had demolished nearly 3,000 illegal hutments. But due to political patronage, the slums were reconstructed. Through RTI, we have found that the then BMC commissioner, in 2003, had refrained from providing basic amenities to the slums, a decision which has thankfully restricted its growth
Dr. Arelene D’Souza