MMRDA has transferred all 16 officials and employees in its Social Development Branch after a surprise inspection found procedural lapses and unauthorised persons on the premises, according to a report by The Times of India. The branch handles rehabilitation and housing matters for project-affected people (PAPs) in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
The transfers followed an inspection by MMRDA Metropolitan Commissioner Sanjay Mukherjee. The action covers staff across the branch, including the deputy collector responsible for PAP-related matters and employees in lower-level positions. The deputy collector also handled cases connected with Metro projects.
Following the inspection, Mukherjee directed officials to conduct a detailed review of the branch’s functioning and strengthen administrative supervision and controls. MMRDA subsequently decided to undertake a complete administrative restructuring, with employees transferred and fresh responsibilities assigned across the unit.
The revised responsibilities include handling PAP cases, maintaining records, scrutinising applications and processing cases for further action. The branch processes applications and supporting documentation from eligible project-affected people before allotments and other rehabilitation measures are undertaken.
MMRDA’s Social Development Branch plays a central role in rehabilitation housing for people displaced or otherwise affected by major infrastructure projects. Its work includes cases linked to projects such as Metro developments, where affected families must submit documents and applications for consideration under rehabilitation processes.
The inspection’s findings have prompted the authority to emphasise transparency, proper documentation and closer administrative oversight in PAP-related work. MMRDA has also stressed that the process should remain free from intermediaries, given the sensitivity of rehabilitation claims and the importance of direct communication between affected families and the authority.
The presence of unauthorised persons in the branch premises was among the issues identified during the inspection, according to the report. The authority’s response has been a wholesale administrative reshuffle rather than a change limited to individual employees or specific functions.
The restructuring is intended to create clearer responsibility for applications, records and case processing. It also places new officials in charge of PAP matters as MMRDA reviews how rehabilitation claims are handled and supervised.
The transfers come as infrastructure projects across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region continue to generate rehabilitation cases involving project-affected people. For families awaiting allotments or decisions on their claims, the branch’s records, scrutiny procedures and case-processing systems are key parts of the rehabilitation process.
MMRDA’s next steps are to implement the new assignments, continue the administrative review and strengthen oversight of the Social Development Branch’s work. The authority has not indicated in the supplied report whether the review will result in further personnel or procedural action.
