Tribals and slum-dwellers from Sanjay Gandhi National Park to be relocated by state government; SRA and MHADA to construct houses

More than 1,795 tribals along with 13,486 slum-dwellers from Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) will soon have a house for themselves as Maharashtra government is planning to rehabilitate them with help from Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) and Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA). Accordingly, SRA has floated tender for the construction of houses of the people residing in SGNP.

Since the tribals and the slum-dwellers are accustomed to the natural surrounding around their habitat, they will be relocated to a 90-acre land at Marol-Maroshi. According to the plan, the tribals will be provided with a row-house which will be a replica of their traditional house consisting of elements of the tribe’s culture.

A senior MHADA official told Mumbai Live that every tribal will receive a 480 sq. ft. house and the houses will be constructed by MHADA after keeping the cultural attributes of the tribe in mind. The official added that this is MHADA’s first rehabilitation project on a such a large scale. 

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Over the years, the national park has been encroached by several people and in response to the encroachment, Bombay High Court had ordered the state government to relocate the residents from SGNP.  Accordingly, the relocation of several families was conducted in the first phase of the project and now, the second phase of the rehabilitation will be initiated by SRA which will aid 15,281 families.

The Marol-Maroshi area was earlier owned by the Forest Department and was planning to convert it into an animal zoo. However, as the department was unable to construct the zoo at the place, they decided to use it for the rehabilitation of the people living in the national park. According to the new policy, the slum-dwellers will be offered a 304 sq. ft. house instead of the pre-decided 269 sq. ft. house. Similarly, the tribals will be provided with a 480 sq. ft. row-house.

The houses will be constructed by MHADA’s Mumbai Board. However, the tender for the row-houses will be floated by MHADA whereas the tender for the buildings for slum-dwellers will be floated by SRA. The builders/contractors for the same will be offered Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) for the rehabilitation program.