The Maharashtra Forest Department has approved the purchase of 6,500 vacant MHADA homes at Khoni and Shirdhon for the rehabilitation of eligible encroachers from Sanjay Gandhi National Park, a move that could generate approximately Rs 1,100 crore for the Konkan Housing and Area Development Board and begin the long-delayed relocation process.
According to a report by Loksatta, the Forest Department has communicated its decision in writing to MHADA’s Konkan Board. The board has now started the process of transferring the vacant Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana homes to the department for the rehabilitation of encroachers who meet the eligibility cut-off of living in the park area before January 1, 1995.
The homes are located in Khoni and Shirdhon and were developed for the economically weaker section under the PMAY programme. They had remained unsold after failing to attract buyers through the lottery process. The Konkan Board had subsequently begun offering them under a first-come, first-served sales system, but a substantial number continued to remain vacant.
The Forest Department had sought housing from MHADA for the rehabilitation of Sanjay Gandhi National Park encroachers. The vacant homes were offered as one possible solution. The proposed purchase will address MHADA’s concern over unsold inventory while giving the Forest Department a housing stock for the first phase of rehabilitation, according to senior board officials cited in the report.
The decision also closes one possible route for the housing claims of mill workers. The government and mill-worker organisations have been examining ready homes and available land to address the housing needs of more than one lakh workers. The 6,500 vacant homes had been considered for that purpose as well. MHADA had decided to give priority to whichever of the Forest Department or the mill-worker organisations formally accepted the homes first. The Forest Department’s written confirmation has now cleared the way for the transfer.
The rehabilitation is linked to the larger effort to remove encroachments from the national park. Environmental groups have demanded that Sanjay Gandhi National Park be freed of encroachments, and petitions on the issue have been filed in court. During hearings, the Bombay High Court directed the authorities to remove encroachments first and rehabilitate affected residents afterwards, according to the report.
The scale of the challenge extends well beyond the 6,500 homes now identified. The number of encroachments in the national park is reported to be close to 40,000, leaving the Forest Department and park authorities with the task of finding housing for thousands of additional residents. The homes at Khoni and Shirdhon therefore represent an initial rehabilitation stock rather than a complete resolution of the park’s encroachment problem.
MHADA is expected to continue the administrative process for transferring the homes to the Forest Department. The board estimates that the sale will bring in around Rs 1,100 crore while removing the burden of maintaining a large vacant housing inventory. The next stages will involve completing the transfer and identifying the eligible beneficiaries covered by the rehabilitation decision.
