A rehabilitation plan for residents living in and around Mumbai’s Sanjay Gandhi National Park is set to move ahead, with the Maharashtra government deciding to take up approximately 4,000 people in the first phase, according to a report by Mid-Day.
The decision was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde at Sahyadri Guest House on Friday. Officials reviewed the long-pending rehabilitation plan, which has faced resistance from residents concerned about being moved away from their existing homes.
Around 25,000 people living within the national park have been proposed for rehabilitation. Housing for approximately 20,000 residents is available at Khoni near Kalyan and Shirdhon near Panvel, but residents have objected to relocation sites that are far from their current settlements and established livelihoods.
The first phase will focus on 4,000 residents to facilitate the demarcation of the park boundary and construction of a protective wall. The Revenue Department will first demarcate the boundary and identify the residents who could be affected by the work, according to the report.
Shinde directed officials to adopt a flexible approach to relocation. Residents willing to move may be shifted to ready-to-occupy homes at Khoni and Shirdhon. Those unable to relocate that far are to be considered for rehabilitation in nearby areas, subject to the availability of housing.
The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority and the Slum Rehabilitation Authority will assess housing stock in different locations and prepare the rehabilitation plan. The report does not specify the number of homes available in Mumbai or nearby areas, or a final timeline for shifting residents.
A separate approach has been proposed for approximately 2,000 tribal residents living within the national park. These families would be rehabilitated within the park rather than moved to multistorey buildings outside it. Shinde said ground-plus-one-floor houses would be constructed within the park area to reflect their traditional way of living.
The rehabilitation issue has gained urgency following directions from the Bombay High Court to demarcate the boundaries of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park and construct a wall around it. The boundary exercise is expected to determine which settlements and households will be affected by the proposed work.
Residents who remain in the area during the rehabilitation process are also expected to receive temporary civic support. Temporary electricity connections will be provided through Adani, while the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation will arrange mobile toilets. The BMC has also been asked to carry out temporary repairs to roads in the settlements before the Ganesh festival.
The next steps are the Revenue Department’s boundary demarcation and resident identification exercise, followed by an assessment of housing availability by MHADA and the Slum Rehabilitation Authority. The first-phase rehabilitation plan will be worked out after those exercises.
