PD?Mello Road to be encroachment free by May end

The PD’Mello Road which stretches from Victoria Terminus in south Mumbai to Wadala in south-central Mumbai will be free of encroachment by the end of summer.

Niranjan Pandit, government pleader told the Bombay High Court on Wednesday that there are 632 eligible slum dwellers on the PD’Mello Road. The MMRDA would provide with alternate accommodations by the end on May following which they would demolish the remaining hutments on the road.

The road will then by used for road widening by the MMRDA under its Mumbai Urban Infrastructure Project (MUIP) scheme.

In 2006 two retired high court judges had written a letter to the Bombay High Court stating that the entire stretch of PD'Mello road is encroached and that the slum dwellers are stealing water and electricity from the area. The HC had converted the letter into a suo moto petition and had directed a senior court officer to submit a report on the encroachment.

In a meeting conducted in January by the MMRDA and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, it was stated that out of the total hutments 632 were pre 1995 and thus they are eligible for rehabilitation. The MMRDA on Wednesday assured the court that by the end of May, the 632 slum dwellers will be rehabilitated and the rest of the hutments will be removed by the BMC.

Also, the additional commissioner of police has assured sufficient police protection to the BMC when it undertakes demolition drive at the PD’Mello Road. The matter will be further heard on February 28

Email Urvi Jappi: urvi.jappi@hindustantimes.com