On Wednesday, the Housing Minister, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, said that his government is likely to approach the ministry of shipping and surface transport for Mumbai Port Trust’s 100-acre land so that they can construct transit camps to provide alternative accommodation for occupants of “dangerous” buildings.
Vikhe Patil stated that after the collapse of the building in Dongri, the government has taken a policy for cluster redevelopment of the city’s 500-odd dangerous buildings. Vacating the buildings will be easier if occupants are given alternative accommodation in south Mumbai as many of these buildings are in that area.
He said that if the shipping ministry accepts the state’s proposal, the task of constructing transit camps will be given to Mhada, the planning authority for the purpose. Mhada is already maintaining 450 cessed buildings on port trust land. In the future, these buildings too will have to be redeveloped. Besides redevelopment, Mhada will do cluster development of dangerous buildings.
He held a meeting with the additional chief secretary (housing) Sanjay Kumar, Mhada managing director Milind Mhaiskar and SRA’s CEO Deepak Kapoor on the action plan for cluster development of dangerous buildings and the proposed ordinance to amend the Mhada Act for speedy cluster development.
A senior bureaucrat said that an ordinance to amend the Mhada act will be brought before the state cabinet next week.