MUMBAI: After months of uncertainty following the demolition of their homes at Garib Nagar in Bandra East, all 100 residents declared eligible for rehabilitation have finally been allotted alternative accommodation in Kurla, with the MMRDA on Thursday beginning the process of handing over possession letters.The MMRDA, which is the nodal agency for rehabilitation of project-affected persons, used a newly developed computerised system to allot the flats.Officials said the system was introduced to ensure 100% transparency and eliminate human intervention in the allotment process.The Garib Nagar beneficiaries were the first to receive flats through the new system.Of the 100 eligible residents, 84 have been allotted flats in a building in Kurla, while the remaining 16 have been given flats in an HDIL building in Kurla.Each beneficiary has been allotted a 279sqft flat.MMRDA metropolitan commissioner Sanjay Mukherjee handed over a possession letter and keys symbolically to one project-affected person on Thursday, following which possession letters were distributed to the remaining beneficiaries, senior MMRDA officials said.The rehabilitation had been delayed as the buildings where the beneficiaries were to be accommodated had not received the required residential/occupation certificate.MMRDA had earlier assured the Bombay high court through an affidavit that rehabilitation would be completed as soon as the certificate was obtained.The court subsequently gave MMRDA time till September 30 to complete the process.The deadline ended on Wednesday, following which the authority initiated physical possession of the homes on Thursday.The development comes against the backdrop of the demolition of nearly 500 structures at Garib Nagar in May for Western Railway’s infrastructure expansion, including the fifth and sixth railway lines and station-related works.The demolition was carried out after the Bombay high court permitted the Railways to proceed with removal of unauthorised structures while directing that the interests of residents identified as eligible project-affected persons be protected.The demolition drive was conducted between May 19 and 23, with around 500 of nearly 600 structures removed. The eligible residents were to be rehabilitated separately.MMRDA had earlier assured the court and residents that the 100 eligible families would be shifted by August 15, but the absence of the occupation certificate delayed the process.MMRDA officials said rehabilitation of project-affected persons affected by Western Railway’s expansion works from CSMT to Virar will continue, with the authority responsible for the process as the nodal agency.
