Indian Express 30.08.2010
Developer claims 70% consent, residents say letters fudged
Shalini Nair Tags : housing Posted: Mon Aug 30 2010, 04:45 hrs
Mumbai: Spread over a 15-hectare green enclave barely 50 metres from the Versova seashore, the 350-odd sprawling cottages of Aram Nagar belie that they were built as military barracks during World War II and later let out for low-income group (LIG) housing. Its current occupants are mostly descendants of refugees and the homeless who were allowed to stay in the empty shells post-Independence. Each cottage today command Rs 2-4 crore and many of these have, over the years, been bought by the swish set from the film and television industry.With the property turning into a real estate gold-mine, the residents filed a writ petition this month against RNA Developers and Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) to stave off a move to raze the row houses and construct towers instead. Bollywood actors Suniel Shetty, Abhay Deol, Javed Jaffrey, Shakti Kapoor and Ayesha Jhulka, producers Guddu Dhanoa, Ramsay Brothers and Govind Nihalani, singer Kailash Kher and fashion photographer Ashok Salian are among the celebrities who own homes or cottages-turned-offices here.
The developer got the project sanctioned by claiming a 70 per cent tenants’ consent as required under rules. However, residents say documents they procured from MHADA under the Right to Information (RTI) Act show that barely a third of residents have given their consent. The remaining consents are allegedly either duplicated or invalid as they are without signatures or signed by proxy candidates. Others had withdrawn their consent on grounds that they were made to accede through manipulation. Residents say the housing board issued orders to tenants last month to “extend their full co-operation” despite bringing all these to its notice. The project aims at constructing 100-odd row houses and five 22-storey towers for tenants and public housing while using the remaining land to construct plush apartments to sell at market rates.
Film producer Shabnam Kapoor, the main petitioner, says there has been a complete lack of transparency in the way the developers have gone about the process. Actor Javed Jaffrey say only a small minority of residents has formed an association for redevelopment. “When I bought this cottage recently, it was not for its commercial value but because this is one of the few pockets in Mumbai that has ample open space without highrises. Pali village, where I was brought up, had similar cottages once but it has been killed over the years.”
His neighbour Nasreen Shaikh alleges that over 50 consent letters procured under RTI were found to have been duplicated.
Developer Anil Aggarwal of RNA Group said, “The residents have made unauthorised extensions to their homes, which is why they don’t want a developer to come in. All the consent letters are in order and have been verified by MHADA.” MHADA’s Mumbai Board chief officer Satish Bhide was not available for comment.
Aram Nagar is one of the 27 ground-floor LIG societies in the state that were to be transferred to tenants on ownership basis under a 1987 Government Resolution. “Accordingly, MHADA has allowed 26 LIG colonies to be converted into ownership basis on payment of a premium but a decision on Aram Nagar still hangs in balance,” said 75-year-old KS Hariharan, one of the original LIG residents.
He said the uncertainty that came with being a tenanted colony had made it easier for the developer to push his redevelopment project.
“Right now, there is no penalty clause in case the developer fails to deliver. Once the land is conveyed in our name, we won’t be forced to move into highrises. If at all we need redevelopment, we could do it through a more transparent process of calling for tenders and awarding it to a developer who offers us the maximum security,” Shaikh said.
