The ill-fated Basic Services to Urban Poor (BSUP) housing project in Kashimira launched by the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) which has slowed down owing to an acute financial crunch is all set to gather momentum after chief minister- Eknath Shinde issued standing instructions to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to release the funds at the earliest.
The project has been mired in technical and procedural delays, shattering the hopes of thousands of slum dwellers of getting their dream homes for over a decade. After unsuccessfully exploring options to merge the project with the Pradhan Mantri Aawas Yojana, the cash-strapped MBMC had approached MMRDA to bail them out with a loan to complete the project. The MMRDA complied and gave its nod to pump funds amounting to Rs 127 crore. However, the MBMC claims to have received only eight crores so far. The looming overheads-mainly dues amounting to more than Rs. 20 crore to the contractor- have adversely impacted the speed of construction.
The matter came for discussion before the chief minister during a review meeting, following which the MMRDA officials were asked to disburse the funds at the earliest. To enhance the living standards of the urban poor, the MBMC had identified two slum clusters -- Janta Nagar and Kranti Nagar – to construct 4,136 housing units with a carpet area of 279 sq. ft. per unit in 2009. However, due to inordinate delays, the central government reduced the number of units from 4,136 to 2,160.
Ironically, only 195 slum dwellers have been rehabilitated in the lingering project as thousands of other eligible beneficiaries continue to live in transit accommodations for more than a decade. It has been alleged that the centrally -sponsored BSUP aimed at rehabilitating slum dwellers in multi-storied buildings has turned into a contractor-driven money-minting scheme.
