Mumbai Northeast Lok Sabha candidate Mihir Kotecha has called for in-situ rehabilitation of slum dwellers, a matter stirring concern among his supporters who fear a significant influx from Dharavi and the arrival of project-affected people (PAPs) displaced by redevelopment work across the city. Kotecha wrote a letter to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, requesting a demographic and socio-economic impact assessment by a nationally reputed institution to evaluate the "effect of housing 7,500 families of project-affected persons (PAPs) in Mulund East" on Thursday.
According to Kotecha, an BJP MLA from Mulund, the project to house 7,500 PAPs in Mulund was approved during Uddhav Thackeray's tenure as Chief Minister without consultation with local elected representatives, citizens, and town planning experts. Currently, the government has also proposed relocating both PAPs and Dharavi residents to Mulund. With expansive salt pan lands extending from Mulund to Kanjurmarg in Mumbai's North-East constituency, influx of PAPs is possible.
In his letter, Kotecha has urged the government to restrain Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) from executing the PAP relocation project. Kotecha emphasized the need for in-situ rehabilitation of Dharavi residents, suggesting transits on the Wadala salt pan lands, which are close to Dharavi and would not disrupt the social, educational, and economic fabric of the area.
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Mulund residents have been opposing both the PAP relocation project and a rental housing scheme for Dharavi residents, staging a silent human chain protest in February against the relocation. He also stated that if the PAP project proceeds, it will relocate 40,000 people in Mulund East, the heart of Marathi culture and the potential to disrupt the area's peace.
"The project's repercussions have instilled fear and confusion among local citizens, increasing population burden and traffic congestion in North-East Mumbai. It will strain public infrastructure," Kotecha underscored in his letter to the government, echoing voters' concerns.