The Indian Express 16.08.2012
BMC to revive housing project for conservancy workers
After a four-year delay, the project to get one-room tenements constructed to house conservancy workers is back on track, with the civic administration planning to move ahead with it.
In 2008, the BMC had announced the project— Ashray (shelter)— for conservancy workers. There are 28,000 workers sweeping the city’s streets and shifting garbage to dumping grounds but only 4,554 civic quarters, most of them dilapidated, scattered across the city for them and their families.
The BMC had decided to make budgetary provisions for the project, estimated to cost Rs 1,000 crore, in a staggered manner. Owing to several hurdles and a change in administration, the project never really took off.
In a recent meeting, Municipal Commissioner Sitaram Kunte decided to immediately revive the project. Not only is the existing housing grossly inadequate, seven of the 24 civic wards do not even have any quarters for these workers.
The area include Chira Bazaar, Andheri-Jogeswari-Vileparle (east), Chembur, Malad, Dahisar, Bandra-Santacruz East and King Circle which have a high population density. Under Ashray, existing chawl-like quarters will be redeveloped in addition to creating housing in locations where there are none.
“Many workers are forced to live in slums around their workplace as it is not possible for them to stay in the north and report to work, say to Colaba, at the crack of dawn,” said architect PK Das, who has been appointed by the civic body to design the self-contained one-bedroom houses.
The plan to generate additional quarters was first mooted by the then joint BMC commissioner V Radha who planned to execute the project using municipal resources. Subsequent municipal commissioners either wanted to rope in private developers to execute the project on the grounds that BMC cannot bear the financial strain or were disinterested in the project. “If we choose private public participation, then BMC will have to give up part of the land and housing stock to the developer. We have therefore decided to give cash contract using our own budgetary allocation,” said Kunte.
He cited the example of Tulsiwadi conservancy quarters taken up for redevelopment 12 years ago by a private developer. “Till date he has delivered not one even of the 1,200 promised quarters. We will be constructing the service quarters along transport corridor such as railways as to ensure easy access for workers. We are pitching for a floor space index (FSI) of four,” said Kunte.
He added that the project will be kicked off using the existing FSI of 2.66 allowed for municipal buildings until higher FSI is approved by the government. Civic authorities are expected to meet on Thursday to zero-in on five locations that are in severely run-down condition and require redevelopment on priority.
Of the 36 locations that house the existing quarters, 17 are in the island city and 10 are in the western suburbs and 9 in the eastern suburbs.
