As reported in Express News Service on 17th Oct 2009
In a significant push to the heavily delayed Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR) construction, tenants have agreed to vacate the New Tilak Nagar housing societies in Chembur, with the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) agreeing to resettle them within 24 months.
MMRDA officials said the consent came after residents of the 13 MHADA buildings went to the Bombay High Court seeking approval for resettlement in new buildings to be built by MMRDA before the tenants vacating the premises. “They had fears about the time it would take for the resettlement, that it would go beyond 24 months. But approvals for layouts for the new buildings will be obtained from MHADA and the BMC in due course,” said P H Warwadekar, MMRDA Planner.
The tenants will have to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) and vacate the premises within 15 days. “The tenants will have to leave within 15 days of signing, failing which MMRDA can take forcible possession and demolish the buildings,” Warwadekar said. So far 96 tenants have signed the MoU; 164 remain.
The buildings are in the carriageway of the proposed SCLR. According to Warwadekar, demolition can start by mid-November.
Till the new buildings are ready, the MMRDA will provide the tenants an allowance as rent for their alternative accommodation. If it crosses the 24-month deadline, the MMRDA will raise the allowance by 10 per cent. Under the current plan, tenants in the middle-income group will be given Rs 14,000 a month and those in the lower-income group Rs 11,000 a month.
As reported in Hindustan Times on 17th Oct 2009
It looks like the six-lane, elevated 3.5 km Santacruz-Chembur Link Road (SCLR) will finally be completed next year.
All 260 tenants of the 13 Mhada buildings in Tilak Nagar, that obstructed the road alignment, have finally agreed to vacate the premises and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) promised to build new homes for them in two years.
“With this move, we hope to complete the Santacruz-Chembur Link Road by next year,” said Additional Metropolitan Commissioner SVR Srinivas.
When the 13 buildings are razed and the World Bank-funded Rs 110 crore two-deck bridge gets ready, you will be able to zip between Santacruz and Chembur in 17 minutes. It takes two hours now.
Under construction for over five years, the SCLR that was to have been ready by 2005, will now open only next year.
The work was delayed on the issue of rehabilitating the residents of the 13 Mhada buildings. Of the 260 tenants, only 100 had agreed to vacate the premises, and the rest, who demanded more time, approached the Bombay High Court.
The high court directed MMRDA and the tenants to sign a memorandum of understanding that the residents would vacate the buildings and the MMRDA will fund the construction of new buildings at Navin Nagar in Chembur and hand over the plots to the residents in two years.
