Eknath Shinde, the chief minister of Maharashtra, said to the legislative assembly on Thursday that in the next two months, the state government will send a report to the central government outlining an environmental cost-benefit analysis of redeveloping 25,000 slums along Mumbai's coastline.
He made the announcement while replying to a calling attention notice by BJP MLA Ashish Shelar. An environmental cost-benefit analysis report is being prepared through the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) regarding the redevelopment of these slums that fall under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)-2, Shinde said.
This analysis report is crucial for the redevelopment of these slums. It will be ready and sent to the central government in the next two months, he added. Shelar said the chief minister’s assurance meant the fate of nearly 25,000 slums housing nearly 1.25 lakh people in Mumbai will be decided in the next two months. According to the CRZ notification dated January 6, 2011 issued by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, conditions were placed on the redevelopment of these slums.
Speaking to reporters outside the assembly complex, Shelar said the state government directed the two concerned authorities the BMC and the SRA to prepare an environmental cost-benefit analysis report.T Through his calling attention notice in the House, Shelar brought to the notice of the assembly how enormous the redevelopment task will be.
Talking about it, he said, On the one hand we are trying to make Mumbai slum-free, while on the other there are still pockets in Mumbai like Worli, Bandra, Khar, Juhu, Versova and Dharavi, where nearly 1.25 lakh people residing in 25,000-odd slums are waiting for years for a favourable decision from the government. By when will the BMC and the SRA submit this environment cost-benefit analysis report to the Centre, Shelar asked in the House.