MUMBAI: BMC last month served notices to residents and shop-owners of 19 buildings in Parel and Elphinstone, asking them to vacate their homes, as it proposes to construct an elevated bridge connecting the upcoming Mumbai Trans Harbour Link (MTHL) to Bandra Worli sea link, as well as the coastal road project.
Residents and commercial structure owners are to be relocated. While residents are to be moved to a project-affected people (PAP) tenement at Gomata Nagar, Worli, commercial establishments will be moved into Shirodkar Mandai at J Bhandarkar Marg, Parel.
Swapnaja Kshirsagar, assistant municipal commissioner of BMC’s F south ward, said of the 19 buildings, 12 are in F south ward, while seven fall in G south ward. Most buildings are privately owned and 60-80-years-old. “MMRDA is constructing the Sewri-Worli bridge, but as the buildings fall within the civic road line, we are facilitating the process of giving notices and demolition,” she said.
Several locals and shop-owners are unwilling to relocate. Sachin Hate, who lives in Laxmi Niwas, said, “We are not some Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) tenements who should be sent to PAP accommodation. At meetings with the authorities, we have brought it to their notice that we should be accommodated in some cluster redevelopment project if need be. We have repeatedly informed them that we would nor relocate till we are given a proper rehabilitation. Our homes have a large area so we should be assured of the same again. We have not been given any deadline to vacate as authorities are to get back with answers to many questions we raised.”
