Despair for some,hope for some…

DB REALTY COMPLEX,MAHUL

The latest residents of DB Realty Complex in Mahul Gaon are having a difficult time adjusting to their new residence. Displaced and transferred here from their homes in various parts of Mumbai,the colony also known as Jhopadpatti Punarvasan Pradhikaran,is one the BMC’s most recently-acquired transit camps.

As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives,DB Realty is developing the 36.5 acre plot in Mahul Gaon,for housing project-affected persons (PAPs) of various state agencies such as MHADA,Slum Rehabilitation Authority and BMC. The colony currently houses 72 buildings,with many more under construction. Most buildings are barely a year old,and are largely uninhabited.

Building No. 19,part of the BMC-allotted transit accommodation here,houses some of the only few who populate this quiet and secluded colony.

Kanta Pawar moved to this building five months back from Santacruz. “It is eerily quiet here. Our building is one of the only populated ones in the entire colony. We have also been facing power shortage here lately. Although my old home was in a bad state,at least we had basic amenities,” she says. Her husband now has to change three buses and travel for almost two hours one-way to reach Ganga Board Mills,Santacruz,where he works.

“My daughters’ school is far and the commute scares me. We have not transferred them from their old school as we have yet to find a good school here. Even the nearest school is very far. We have not even been told how long it will take for our old building to be ready. I am afraid we may have to stay here for years,” she says.

Another resident Neha Lad was relocated here from Kurla a little more than three months ago. Although Lad,her husband and three-and-a-half-month old baby now live in a 225 sq.ft room in the building – an upgrade from her 200 sq. ft. flat in Kurla,she recounts the harrowing experience of moving out: “My family and I had to deal with the stress of shifting while I was in a stage of advanced pregnancy. I gave birth just a week before we moved. We were simply given the name of the locality and building number,and told to move. We did not get any help or compensation for the moving process,” she adds.

DHARAVI TRANSIT CAMP

Many residents of PMG Colony,MHADA’s transit camp in Dharavi,are slowly losing hope of ever returning home. These buildings house approximately 600 families evicted from their previous homes in Kamathipura which were identified as “dangerous and dilapidated” by MHADA. Although originally meant to serve as temporary accommodation until their homes were renovated,many have been living here for years now.

When Salim Chowdhary relocated here from Kamathipura he was assured he would get his flat back after three years. However,four years later,Salim is yet to hear of his building’s redevelopment plan finally taking off. “The authorities have asked me to be patient,but they refuse to set a specific time frame for the building to be ready,” says Chowdhary. The sole breadwinner of his family,Chowdhary quit his job in Kamathipura after moving to PMG colony,and has now found a job closer home,albeit a lesser-paying one at the Dharavi Bus Depot.

“A few families who were able to afford better housing elsewhere have moved out and have illegally rented their rooms to outsiders,” alleges a local shop owner Raju Bhai.

Another resident of this transit camp,Rakesh Seth lives in a 180 sq. ft room with his wife and two children. Relatively new to this camp,Seth moved here two years ago from Pydhonie. “We were told these were 180 sq ft rooms,but in reality,they are around 165 sq ft. My previous flat was 220 sq.ft,so this is a lot smaller,” he points out. However Seth remains hopeful. “The redevelopment work has already begun on my building in Pydhonie and will hopefully be ready by the end of 2014. We were expecting to find terrible living conditions here,but we were pleasantly surprised. The building is in good condition,and I haven’t faced any significant electricity or water problems yet,” he says.