State to introduce centrally-run schemes to ensure houses for slumdwellers

In a bid to solve the long-pending issues of slum rehabilitation in major projects like Mumbai International Airport and Dharavi Redevelopment,the state government will introduce centrally-run housing schemes to rehabilitate slum dwellers. The vital projects have the eligibility date fixed for 2000. Despite this,several thousands of slum dwellers will remain uncovered under the current rehabilitation scheme planned by the state government.

“We are considering the centrally-run schemes for ensuring the slum-dwellers who are not covered under SRA are also rehabilitated. We are looking at Basic Services to the Urban Poor and Rajiv Gandhi Awas Yojana to solve the issue,which has been a lock-jam for the projects,” a senior government official said. As of now,there are 80,000 tenements along the airport and another 76,000 in Dharavi region which have to be rehabilitated. These have been deemed eligible by the government.