Mumbai's salt pans and Union government-owned tracts of land that are currently encroached upon could soon be opened up for slum rehabilitation projects under the Centre’s ambitious Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY). While Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said on Tuesday that the state government has sought for a policy to be drawn up on how the 2,000 hectare of mostly defunct salt pans in Mumbai can be used for housing, Union Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Kumari Selja said she will support the state government in discussing the matter with the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
Speaking at a day-long conclave on urban poverty alleviation and the RAY, Selja said the process of approaching various Union ministries whose vacant land in Mumbai is encroached upon has already begun.
Housing Department officials said an estimated 1 lakh shanties currently occupy land owned by various Union government departments in Mumbai. The RAY could benefit all these shanties. The Slum Rehabilitation Authority being governed by a state government law, its schemes are currently not permitted on Centre’s land in Mumbai.
Admitting that finding land in Mumbai is the biggest challenge to any major slum rehabilitation scheme, the CM said, “We have approached the Planning Commission too and a policy for Centre and salt pan land is being worked out.” While the use of salt pan land for resettling slumdwellers has been discussed for several years, large tracts of this land fall under CRZ norms where development is not permissible.
Earlier, following the inaugural session of the conclave, Selja said urbanisation is not unwelcome and its challenges have to be seen as an opportunity. “We have seen in Mumbai a proliferation of slums and slum-like neighbourhoods. The city provides livelihood but not shelter. Where did we go wrong?” The gap in physical and social urban planning could be bridged through RAY, she said.