After the Bombay High Court denied to grant interim stay on the BMC's plan to rehabilitate project-affected persons (PAP) in Mulund, the local residents have now pledged to go on a hunger strike against the proposal, including the resettlement of Dharavi residents.
BMC's plans and Mulundkars' woes
The BMC has decided to build 7,439 homes for PAP, while the state housing department has asked to hand over 64 acres of land in Mulund East to develop a rental housing colony for four lakh Dharavi residents.
However, Mulundkars have been fervently opposing the proposals since December 2023. They even filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the HC, seeking cancellation of the PAP scheme in the light of 'several irregularities'. However, the court on Thursday refused to grant interim relief. It observed that such schemes were required for the city to house PAP affected by vital infrastructure projects.
Residents to meet on Saturday
Talking to the Free Press Journal, Advocate Sagar Devre, who had filed the PIL, said the residents will meet (planned on Saturday) to decide about the hunger strike. “We haven’t decided the date of the strike, but we will decide about it at our meeting at the Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maidan. Suggestions from more people will be invited to decide the future course of action,” he added.
In February, Mulundkars came out on the streets and formed a silent human chain to protest against the PAP plans. Besides them, over 200 people from Hari Om Nagar, where a major part of the rehabilitation project has been planned on 83 acres, also joined the protest.
