A team of over 20 senior officers from MMRDA, led by metropolitan commissioner U.P.S. Madan and additional municipal commissioners S.V.R. Srinivasan and Ashwini Bhide, visited the 32 colonies of project affected people (PAP) at Oshiwara in Goregaon (west) on Wednesday. The team spent around an hour and a half inspecting the sorry conditions of people living in the area.
Local corporator Dilip Patel and human rights and RTI activist Sulaiman Bhimani also accompanied the team and briefed the MMRDA officers on the plight of almost 30,000 residents. The residents have been rehabilitated here due to various infrastructure projects carried out by Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP). Mr Patel and Mr Bhimani briefed the team about the various issues of the locality and presented a memorandum listing MMRDA’s lapses in providing bare basic civic amenities to the people.
Mr Bhimani, who wrote a letter to the Human Rights Commission last year, told MMRDA commissioner that a school and medical centre weres urgently needed for the poor people as absence of these was adversely affecting the health and education standards of the entire area.
The deteriorating drainage system, sewer connections, non-collection of garbage, encroachment of the transit camp by a developer, non-maintenance of lifts in the eight-storied buildings, worse condition of roads connecting to the colony were among the issues which were discussed with the officials.
“The quality of construction seen in the 32 colonies is terrible, since the buildings have been constructed by totally inexperienced contractors at a paltry rate of `515/per sq. ft. and they are not maintained. These buildings need structural audit promptly to avoid a Mumbra-like disaster,” said Mr Bhimani, adding that Mr Madan took serious note of the situation and promised to look into the matter.
While Dilip Kawathakar, spokesperson of MMRDA termed this visit as a routine inspection.