MUMBAI, October 3: The slums demolished by the BMC on Wednesday at P D'mello Road were authorised hutments, which were inhabited by people whose names appear in electoral rolls dating back to 1982.Most pavement dwellers on the P D'mello road whose shanties were demolished on the first day of the drive not only have concrete proof of their resident ial status in Mumbai prior to January 1, 1995 - the cutoff date for the state government's ambitious Slum Redevelopment Scheme - but also hold valid ration cards. Sources say the demolition will resume on the road again tomorrow. Deputy Municpal Commissioner (Zone II) A N Dube dismissed this as a case of mistaken identity. ``It is almost impossible to demolish authorised slums, but if the information is true, it will have to be investigated. A lot of people do have their names in the electoral rolls, but have built new slums after January 1, 1995, which will be held as illegal.''Kaunder Mani Muluswamy and his wife Kaunder Channamabai, whose shanty was razed to the ground, have in their possession a certificate which proves that their names have been included in the electoral rolls prepared by the BMC on January 22, 1992 - evidence beyond doubt that their names appear in the rolls prior to 1995. They also possess another certificate bearing no Election/7832/certificate dated October 17, 1996, issued by the BMC's election department which states that they reside at No G-126, P D'mello Road hutments.Said Rani, the Kaunders' daugther, ``We have to live in constant fear of the demolition squads. They never bother to verify our authenticy and ruthlessly pull down our shanties. As they are escorted by a policemen, we are afraid to even argue.''Shanta Ganesh Bangera, another pavement dweller also has in possession a similar certificate dated January 19, 1976, issued by the same department. They also have a receipt issued by the department for paying the process fee at Rs 32. Bangera also possesses a ration card bearing no 297357 mentioning her address at St George Hospital slums, P D'mello Road.Similarly, Shaikh Shahbaz Khan, resident of slum no G-140, has still preserved his voter's card issued by a Congress candidate who contested the civic elections from ward no 4 on April 25, 1985. He also has a ration card bearing no 297468 issued in the name of his father Ismail Jalal Shaikh stating the same address.O K Kunhayi runs a tea stall outside St George's Hospital since the last seven years. He came to Mumbai in 1977, and his hut, like everybody else's has been repeatedly demolished by the authorities. ``We live by the roadside and do not have proper cupboards to preserve such documents. I have lost my ration card and all relevant proof of my being a voter since the early 1980's in one of the demolitions,'' he said.However, Kunhayi possesses his driving licence issued in 1983 which bears his address at the P D'mello Road slums. ``If my name does not appear in the electoral rolls, why have I been allowed to vote in all the elections till today?'' he asked.The pavement dwellers live in inhuman conditions, and are constantly harassed by local dadas and corrupt BMC officials. ``We have to regularly mete out handsome amounts to several slumlords. At times, the BMC officials take money from us, saying we will get pucca houses under the SRD,'' they said.
