Bharat chauhan ,Mumbai| 1st December: It is shocking that the Government of Maharashtra has chosen to maintain silence on an issue which involves lives of 30,000 poor citizens of the city. The Tansa pipeline affected persons who were forcefully shifted to Mahul are demanding their relocation to safe housing as their current site of residence is badly hit by industrial pollution, Air and Water pollution and is becoming the cause of several deaths and innumerable number of families of Mumbai facing diseases. The Hon. High Court of Mumbai on 8th August, 2018, had directed the Government of Maharashtra to try and provide alternative accommodation to the residents of Mahul as the high level of pollution in the area causing serious health issues and also leading to deaths. Government’s failure to act on the Court’s order has forced the residents of Mahul to stage a dharma which started on 28th of October and which is continuing even as it enters 35th day today. Met with a number of hollow assurances till date, the residents of Mahul have decided to hold a mass rally from the dharna site in Vidya Vihar to Mantrayala on 13th December, if Government failed to act as per Court’s order before that.
It is not the case that there are no alternative housing available in Mumbai. In fact, as per the information collected through RTIs, there are more than one lakh houses generated for Project Affected Persons. These houses have been constructed by different housing agencies like MHADA, MMRDA, SRA. A total of 5,500 tenements are required to accommodate all the residents of Mahul. On 12th of November, in a meeting with Mahul residents, the Housing Minister Shri Prakash Mehta had assured that his government can accommodate 5,500 families in Kurla HDIL- a rehabilitation site. These houses were built for Airport expansion affected families. Now, the number of PAFs being reduced from 18,000 to 12,000 only, houses for 5,500 PAFs from Mahul are available! This was admitted by Naseem Khan, MLA and endorsed by Housing Minister Prakash Mehta as well. He gave same for temporary decision for accommodation in then Mantrayala meeting on 12th November stating that CM too had noted that pipeline affected would be rehabilitated in situ. He announced it to the Media too. But what emerged out of the meeting between the Shiv Sena youth leader Aditya Thackerey and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on the issue of Mahul is that Mr. Fadnavis do not agree with what his Housing Minister is proposing as a solution. On one hand the Chief Minister has refused the proposal to provide alternative housing in Kurla HDIL to all 5,500 families while on the other hand he has chosen to stay silent on options available at places other than Kurla. The government is treating the poor residents of Mahul like secondary citizens which is completely in contrast to their claim of ‘SABKA SAATH SABKA VIKAS’.
Life in Mahul is under a constant threat. While Dharmendra Rathod suffering from TB passed away just today. This is 7th demise during last 35 days of agitation, THIS INCIDENT IS EPITOME that the high level of pollution is causing deaths and serious diseases like TB, Asthma, Cancer, Heart attack, Paralysis etc. on the other hand, constant risk of major accidents in the industries which are in close proximity to the residential area, instill perpetual fear in the minds of the residents. On the 8th of August this year, a major blast in the nearby refinery had shaken the entire residential area, buildings and the people, both. The residents had panicked and come out of the building which lacks even emergency exits. In the inception interim report prepared by a team of IIT Bombay which was constituted on the direction of Bombay High Court, it is pointed out as to how life can be at risk in the absence of emergency exits in such a potentially dangerous place. The report also points out other potential risks to life apart from pollution-which is the main complaint of the residents.
As the industrial area and residential area in Mahul is a few meter wide road. The National Green Tribunal while noting serious health risks in its order in December 2015, directed Maharashtra Pollution Control Board to set buffer zone between Industrial and Residential area in four months’ time so as to avoid deadly impact of industrial accidents on human population and also imposed them with a fine worth 1 Crore rupees. MPCB has not complied with the direction so far and yet the Government of Maharashtra chose to dump a major population in an area full of death traps. Does the Chief Minister have any concern over more than hundreds of deaths which has occurred in Mahul after people were forcefully sent there and respect for judiciary, is the question.
