Riverfront project: AMC starts demolition

Vasant,a vegetable vendor,said: “The AMC teams come for the survey and give numbers to hutments. They have not done any survey in this pocket in the last five years. We have no survey numbers,no allotment letters and no promises of any alternative houses.”

The issue is sketchy in Kagdiwal as even the ones who have got survey numbers have no allotment letters after the demolition of their houses. Fatima Miyana’s house has survey no 166 and Rashida Sheikh has survey number 149. But their houses were demolished without providing them letters.

The hutment dwellers said that young leaders from political parties often collected money from them on behalf of AMC.

Shamshu Vaghri said: “They collect Rs 1,000 to 2,000,stating they are from a particular party and are working with AMC to give them permanent shelter. I have paid Rs 2,200 and several others have paid money too.”

In its last survey in 2008,AMC had claimed that only 4,000 families will be affected by the project. The Gujarat High Court then ordered AMC to rehabilitate 1,200 people in the first phase.

Besides,a HC Division Bench comprising Chief Justice S J Mukhopadhyay had ordered AMC last May to take the issue of slum-dwellers to a high-level committee comprising retired judges,educationists and AMC officials. But so far no steps have been taken to demand a fresh survey,said Sabarmati Nagrik Adhikar Manch (SNAM) president Mohammad. He said AMC has done several surveys and keeps wavering the number of affected families before the HC.

He added: “The committee has not spoken to us even once after it was formed. They are allotting houses to us on the basis of the survey of 2002. AMC is not taking any steps for those who have settled here after 2002.”

The issue of Kagdiwal is disputed in the HC. AMC had tried to demolish the cluster in 1993 and the HC had ordered a stay. The court ordered AMC to resettle the hutments at the same place.

Municipal Commissioner IP Gautam,who is the Chairman of the Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Ltd (SRFDC),refused to comment on the issue.

SRFDC Director Surendra Baxi said: “The demolitions should not have happened without identifying those affected. Only after the survey can they have a guarantee of permanent housing. We will ask AMC to survey the riverfront households again.”