Sena vs Sena over prime 90 acres of Govt housing colony in Bandra East
The plan includes a complex of the Bombay high court on over 30 acres of land, rehabilitation of slum dwellers on 10 acres, and apartments for sale and other amenities on the remaining land
MUMBAI: The long-pending issue of the Bandra Government Colony redevelopment project in Bandra East has now taken a political turn with chief minister Eknath Shinde offering to provide ownership houses to government employees elsewhere in Mumbai and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray staunchly opposing this and demanding that staffers be given houses in the same area.
The redevelopment project was proposed around 10 to 15 years ago on 90 acres of the colony, which currently has 5,000 staff quarters. The plan includes a complex of the Bombay high court on over 30 acres of land, rehabilitation of slum dwellers on 10 acres, and apartments for sale and other amenities on the remaining land.
Fifteen years ago, when the government employees formed a society to press for homes on an ownership basis, there were 3,700 of them. Later, many retired and left the colony. The Government Quarters Residents’ Association (GQRA) has now decided to include only the people still living there, and the number of eligible employees has thus come down to 2,500.
On Friday, Shinde held a meeting with GQRA representatives to discuss their demand for ownership flats in the redevelopment project at a reasonable price. In the meeting, officials informed the CM that there were 2,200 employees who had worked for more than 15 years and 1,600 employees who worked for over 20 years.
The five planned SRA buildings will have only 234 extra flats of 270 square feet each and thus it will not be possible to accommodate all the Government Colony employees. Shinde has thus offered employees a land parcel somewhere else in Mumbai. “CM Shinde asked the administration to check if, as a special case, a land parcel could be given to employees somewhere else in Mumbai for ownership flats,” said the release issued by CM Shinde’s public relation team.
Shinde’s move was slammed by Uddhav Thackeray. “The employees should be rehabilitated in the same area and not somewhere else,” he said at a function in Chembur on Saturday. “CM Shinde has land parcels across Mumbai to give to his businessmen friends in the name of Dharavi redevelopment. Then why can’t he give land to government employees in the same area? When I was chief minister, I had taken this decision.” Thackeray also remarked sarcastically that if the government agreed to give the land parcel at Bandra Reclamation promised to Adani, he would support it.
Those living in Government Colony are unhappy with the government’s move. Ratna Naik, joint secretary of the Government Quarters Residents’ Association (GQRA) said that for thousands of employees like her, there was an emotional connect with the area and they would remain firm on redevelopment in the same area.
“My family has been living here since 1967,” she said. “My father-in-law got staff quarters here. When I came to Mumbai after marriage and joined government service, the same staff quarter was allotted to me in 1999. We are not asking for free homes. We are ready to pay but we expect reasonable rates.” Naik also said that Uddhav Thackeray in his last days as CM had given only in-principle approval but no formal decision was taken. “That is why the issue is still pending,” she said.
Rajesh Jadhav, president of GQRA, said that government employees would not accept land elsewhere in Mumbai. “CM Shinde told us to apply for a land parcel and we presumed it was in Bandra East,” he said. “We were surprised to see the word ‘elsewhere in Mumbai’ in a note issued by his publicity department. We are firm on getting homes in the same area. Next week, we will submit a letter demanding 12 acres of land in the same area for 2,500 flats. We are willing to pay ₹350 crore for it, including the construction cost.”