The state government informed the Bombay high court (HC) that eligible slum dwellers of Sanjay Gandhi National Park will be rehabilitated on 90 acres of land in Marol-Maroshi. Similarly, the court was also told on behalf of the government that the tender process for construction of these rehabilitation flats will be conducted by MHADA before December 1 and the delay in construction of the second phase of rehabilitation flats by DB Realty will be thoroughly investigated.
A bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Amit Borkar reiterated its observations made during the last hearing, taking note of the information given by the state government that the contribution of the ecologically protected national park to Mumbai is more important than the budget.
The court also clarified that this should be kept in mind while strictly implementing the decisions taken regarding removal of encroachments in the national park, rehabilitation of eligible occupants there and investigation of the delay in construction of the second phase of rehabilitation flats.
Accordingly, the government was also ordered to carry out rehabilitation work as per the scheduled programme without any delay, and the court also ordered to submit details of the measures taken to implement the above decisions during this period. The case will be heard on December 16.
Earlier, state Advocate General Birendra Saraf told the court that a high-level committee headed by the Chief Secretary had met on October 3. He also submitted the minutes of this meeting to the court. Accordingly, the primary responsibility of building houses for rehabilitation of eligible slum dwellers will be of the Housing Department.
MHADA will start the tender process for rehabilitation project of eligible slum dwellers on 90 acres of land in Marol-Maroshi before December 1. The responsibility of starting this process on time has been entrusted to the Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of MHADA.
Besides, a committee has been formed under the chairmanship of the additional chief secretary of the housing department to expedite the process and if the developers appointed for the rehabilitation project do not complete the first and second phases of construction within the stipulated time, punitive action will be taken against them. The Advocate General told the court that all this responsibility has been entrusted to the Chief Executive Officer of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority.
Share
Tweet
