Following the burning and demolition of the Mandala slums, National Alliance of People’s Movements, India, at a press release on 26th May, challenged the Government of Maharastra to prove its changing statistics.

Today a delegation of slum dwellers and activists met Principal Secretary Housing, Shri N. Rama Rao; also present were Additional Collectors - City and Eastern & Western Suburbs and representatives of MMRDA. The meeting was held to protest against and discuss the demolition of slums including Mandala, Mankhurd (5000 houses) and Love Dale, Colaba irrespective of High Court orders. The plan and irregularities and illegalities in using the Mandala plot for rehabilitation of PAPs of Mithi River Development was also discussed.

On 18.06.2005, Deputy Secretary, Housing Department had filed an affidavit in High Court, Mumbai, stating that according to them 5645 households had come during 1995 and 2000 and they were eligible for rehabilitation.

A survey to identify these families was once again carried out after a decision taken jointly by the Mumbai Pradish Congress Committee and the Chief Minister in June 2005, after much struggle by Mumbai's ousted poor, in Mumbai and Delhi.

However, by now 130 slum dwellers have been allotted house plots at Mandala and about 300 at Ambujwadi, i.e. out of 5645, only less than 500 have been rehabilitated. The authorities have to be answerable not only to the High Court but also to the people. “Why only this many?”, the delegation asked, and the reply was: others have returned back to their native places.

This was categorically denied by us. The Andolan activists and NAPM had complained about the flaws and corruption in the survey of 1995-2000 carried out, and an unacceptably small number of families declared eligible. The Principal Secretary has agreed, after much debate, to provide a list of these 5645 eligible slum dwellers, which according to the officials themselves would be difficult to find. Whether the figures submitted to High Court were false and misleading or the eligible families have been denied their entitlements and made to face illegal demolition, the Andolan will be looking into the matter and bringing out the truth and the reasons behind such a situation.

MMRDA officials informed the delegation that the Mandala plot is intended to be used for the temporary resettlement of the dealers in scrap material, evicted under Mithi River project. But they had no answers to the questions as to how can the commercial units be 'temporarily' resettled and that too on a plot which falls in 'No Development Zone' (NDZ) and Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)? Such a step by Governmental Authorities is questionable, not only legally but also morally; since on one hand they are pushing the Mithi River project as environmentally sustainable, and on the other, misusing NDZ and CRZ.

Such illegalities will be challenged by the slum dwellers and activists through legal course as well as by taking to street actions. We made it clear that the State Government must immediately stop this move of pitting the poor against the poor, violating social norms and legal provisions.

On questioning about the report of the Committee on housing policy, which was to recommend a policy to ensure housing for every citizen, taking into consideration the migrant poor as well, the Principal Secretary said that it is still pending. If it's so, eviction must stop and the people should be allowed to stay till an alternative is provided. “Why is the state government not using the plots reserved for Housing the Dishoused, which are occupied by shopping malls and builders' townships?”, we asked.

There was no answer.

The Mithi River Development project is totally based on a land-grabbing mission and as such there is no Plan, the reports are still to come, even the relevant plan documents are not being provided under Right to
Information Applications.

The on-going work clearly shows that the real motives are to remove the poor and grab the land under them. The real culprits, be it the Renaissance Hotel constructed right in the middle of the Powai lake, or the construction going on at Drive-in theatre near Mahim Causeway, or the Taxi bay construction by the Airport Authority of India, are not being held responsible but being absolved and protected.

The legal and human rights violations by the authorities who are backed not only by the local builders and politicians, but by International funding agencies like the World Bank, is creating havoc not only with the lives of the poor, but is also affecting society at large. The suspension by the World Bank of loans to the Government of Maharashtra proves that their policies and agreements too are violated, and now the state government is most desirous of changing the lending agency and thereby trying to weaken the policy on Resettlement & Rehabilitation.

But the experience with the World Bank can also be repeated in the case of other multilateral and bilateral funding institutions, if the government is not implementing and following its own policies, and being sensitive to the needs of its poor citizens, especially the development-project affected, whose number is multiplying every year.

Mandala and Mithi river displacement is the test case for the state government if it desires to shop in the open global market for further finance and support.

The press conference was addressed by Medha Patkar, Mohan Chavan, Raj Awasthi, Simpreet Singh

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