Mumbai: Now, BMC will pay INR 50,000 to each hut owner in case of fire

Henceforth, if a fire breaks out in a slum in Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will have to pay INR 50,000 to the concerned slum owner. Until now, the state government was providing assistance to such slum dwellers through the Chief Minister's Fund. 

The state government has issued an order that the civic body should also provide financial assistance of a maximum of INR 50,000 to the concerned hut owner. Although no one is ready to speak openly about this, the municipal officials are expressing their opposition in private.

A fire broke out on March 13 at Appapada in Kurar village of Malad East, where 1,041huts were destroyed. Those huts are on forest land. This hut owner was sanctioned an amount of INR 8,000 per hut from the State Disaster Fund as per the revised State Disaster Response Fund criteria of the Central Government which came into force from November 1, 2022.

The state government has now entrusted the responsibility of distributing this aid to the municipal corporation. Apart from this, INR 10,000 were sanctioned to each hut owner from the Chief Minister's fund. However, the cost of rebuilding each hut or a maximum of INR 50,000 per hut should be paid by the Municipal Corporation from the Disaster Management Fund. The Disaster Management, Relief and Rehabilitation Department has issued an order to coordinate with the Municipal Commissioner in this regard. A copy of the order is with Loksatta. The municipal officials are not happy with this order.

Also Read: Mumbai’s First Underground Metro Line May Have Island Platforms

There is no provision to pay such an amount from the disaster management fund of the municipality. If you help one hut today, it will be repeated in the future. A municipal official related to these developments expressed the opinion that the burden will come on the treasury of the municipality unnecessarily. Even though the land at Malad belongs to the forest department, the state government has forced the municipality to provide financial assistance to the slum owner due to the fire.

Officials fear audit
Until now, it was customary for the state government to provide assistance after a hut fire. However, for the first time this year, a different practice of helping up to INR 50,000 has been dropped by the municipal corporation. It was also feared that there is a possibility that the audit department will put pressure on the municipal corporation in this regard and that the amount may be deducted from the salary of the concerned officer for granting such assistance in the future.