Mumbai's Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) is taking action in response to a 2019 Public Interest Litigation (PIL) that exposed developers' non-payment of transit rent to eligible slum residents. The Bombay High Court's directive on July 19 underscored the SRA's role in overseeing organized slum redevelopment, including ensuring developers regularly pay transit rent. The PIL initiated by Vijendra Rai against Omkar Realtors shed light on developers' failure to meet financial obligations. To address this, SRA appointed nodal officers across civic wards to receive complaints from affected individuals, streamlining the grievance process. The SRA is committed to transparency, sharing actions taken on their website. The court's involvement continues, with the next hearing set for August 30, marking progress toward resolving the issue of unpaid transit rent for Mumbai's slum residents.
In response to a 2019 Public Interest Litigation (PIL) highlighting developers' non-payment of transit rent to eligible slum dwellers, Mumbai's Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) has implemented measures to address the issue. The Bombay High Court, led by then Acting Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar, issued a directive on July 19, stressing the SRA's role in ensuring orderly slum redevelopment, including the regular payment of transit rent to eligible persons. This move comes as a significant development in the ongoing concern of unpaid dues.
The PIL, initiated by Vijendra Rai against Omkar Realtors and Developers Pvt Ltd over a Bandra Reclamation project, brought attention to the larger issue of developers not fulfilling their financial obligations to slum dwellers. Rai later expanded his complaint to encompass other SRA schemes by Omkar. The court, acknowledging the seriousness of the matter, initiated action to address the grievances raised in the writ petition.
In response to the court's directive, SRA Deputy Chief Engineer Rama Mitkar revealed that nodal officers had been appointed for various civic wards to receive complaints from eligible persons and slum dwellers regarding non-payment of transit rent by developers. The move aims to streamline the grievance redressal process and avoid unnecessary litigation. On July 25, the nodal officers were officially named and their contact details were made available through various media channels, including newspapers and social media.
Mitkar emphasized that the SRA's engineering department would thoroughly review the representations and complaints received from slum-dweller cooperative societies and developers. The cooperative department would also be involved in this process. The SRA intends to keep the public informed about the actions taken in response to the complaints, which will be displayed on their official website.
During a recent court hearing, SRA Advocate Vijay Patil assured Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor that the SRA would file an affidavit in response to the ongoing matter. Rai, the petitioner, expressed his intention to provide additional documents to support his case. The court scheduled the next hearing for August 30, marking another step forward in the efforts to address the issue of unpaid transit rent affecting Mumbai's slum dwellers.
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