Project-hit may not be rehabilitated in Umbarde

JUNE 22: Kalyan residents affected by the road widening project at the Bazarpeth area may not be rehabilitated at Umbarde with the court c...

JUNE 22: Kalyan residents affected by the road widening project at the Bazarpeth area may not be rehabilitated at Umbarde with the court commissioner stating that the area was lonely, without residential or commercial outlets. Besides, locals of the area were vociferous against accommodating any outsider in their locality and opposed the allotment of plots for anybody other than the Agri community.

These are some of the observations made by the court commissioner S V Patwardhan, appointed by the bench of Justice A P Shah and Justice D Y Chandrachud in May 2000 in the petition filed by Deepak Sarda and others from Kalyan. The petitioners had opposed the site for rehabilitation at Umbarde, saying it was far from Kalyan city where they resided at present. The commissioner was thus appointed to visit Umbarde and other sites favoured by the petitioners for rehabilitation.

Accordingly, Patwardhan who visited the site on May 15, 2000 has in his report noted that Umbarde is 4.8 kms from the city, a “lonely area, with a few number of hutments.” The Umbarde village is 2 kms from the site. There is only one residential complex, Shree Complex, about 1.5 kms from the site.

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During his visit, the commissioner was also met by the local corporator, C M Karbhari, who along with others told him they would not accommodate any `outsider’ and opposed the allotment. The corporator also stated the villagers are farmers having their cows and buffaloes and space for grazing them was allotted to them by the government. She also submitted a letter written on similar lines to the Thane district collector, which states she had objected to the proposal mooted in the KDMC meetings.

The commissioner has, on his part, after going through the other sites recommended that a site at Mouje Chikanghar, site no 165, having survey no 82 and having 0.60 hectares, where shops have been allotted earlier could be used for rehabilitation. Besides, another private area plot at survey no 276 and having an area of 1.15 hectares could be used for the affected persons. Another site mentioned was one reserved for a community centre by the corporation. This was around 1.2 kms from the demolished area and 2.4 kms from the corporation office. The approximate area was 4,100 sq metres. As told to him by the petitioners, the site could hold all the petitioners provided the area was dereserved in the Development Plan.

The report was today accepted by the bench of Justice Shah and Justice B H Marlapalle.