Supreme Court order cheers Dharavi residents

Government to extend cut-off date eligibility
MUMBAI: Residents of the deprived Dharavi area here have claimed victory after the Supreme Court on Friday allowed the Maharashtra government to extend to January 1, 2000 the cut-off date for those eligible for rehabilitation under the proposed Dharavi Redevelopment Project.
Dharavi, termed Asia’s largest slum, is all set for a massive redevelopment programme for which global tenders were invited last year. Initially only those with valid proof of residence up to January 1, 1995 were considered eligible for resettlement under the project. However, a coalition of citizens’ groups under the umbrella of the Dharavi Bachao Andolan has been demanding that the cut-off date be extended to January 1, 2000 to accommodate more people living in Dharavi.
With the Supreme Court decision, the figure has gone up to 87,200 families from the initial 57,000 families that were entitled to rehabilitation, according to Ravindra Adsure, standing counsel for Maharashtra in the Supreme Court.
Recently, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh held a meeting with leaders of political parties in the Assembly and considered the demands of the Andolan — which included increasing the area of the houses which will be given to residents from 225 sq ft to 400 sq ft.
Mr. Raju Korade of the Andolan said that the Chief Minister principally accepted the demand for dwellings of up to 400 sq ft and that the government would put forward the demand to extend the cut-off date to January 1, 2000.
The estate property belonging to the city municipal corporation which included various buildings would be considered for more space of up to 753 sq ft in the rehabilitation programme, as provided for in the development control rules, the Chief Minister had said.
The redevelopment project faced resistance from local residents, and political parties such as the Shiv Sena, the BJP and the CPI(M), voluntary and business organisations took out protest rallies.
Now the State government is considering some of the proposals put forward by the Andolan, and the Supreme Court’s decision to extend the cut-off date, which will benefit 30,000 families, was a victory for the people, said Mr. Korade.
Mr. Adsure told The Hindu that under the Slum Rehabilitation Act, 1971, the government had the power to extend the cut-off date for slums to be regularised in projects of public importance.
Under the Act, slum-dwellers were entitled to a 225-sq-feet house free of cost. However, a petition challenging certain development control rules and other matters was filed in the Bombay High Court and it had ruled in 2006 that the cut-off date of January 1, 1995 for regularising slums should not be extended. This was challenged by the Maharashtra government in the apex court.
The government viewed the Dharavi project as a project of vital importance and the bidders had raised questions regarding the number of people who were expected to be rehabilitated, Mr. Adsure said.
They also wanted more clarity before undertaking the project. The Maharashtra government moved an application keeping in mind the urgency of the matter since the bids have to be finalised soon. The apex court’s stay on the Bombay High Court ruling applies only to the Dharavi project.
Meena Menon
THE HINDU; Sunday, Apr 06, 2008