123Pune.com

Pune, April 22: THE slum dwellers in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad will have to wait longer for their rehabilitation with the state urban development department staying the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) guidelines after an intervention by Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh at the behest of Pune Congressmen.

Urban Development deputy secretary Sudhakar Nagpure formally stayed the SRA guidelines on April 4, specifically mentioning that the status quo will remain till the revised guidelines are brought in force.

Deshmukh had in March verbally instructed the department to put on hold the SRA guidelines and called a meeting to discuss and resolve the issues that were raised by his party men and representatives of the slums dwellers in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.

The bone of contention was the 270 sq ft tenement or along with other issues like the cut-off date for rehabilitation, which had been set for January 1, 1995, rehabilitation within five km radius etc. Moreover the slum dwellers were not allowed freedom of choice when it came to joining the slum rehabilitation scheme.

Deshmukh had assured to reconsider all the issues including the demand of slum dwellers for keeping 2000 as the cut-off date and rehabilitation on the same spot.

The delegation of Congress leaders which had rushed to Mumbai had demanded that the tenement size be increased to 350 sq ft and introduction of a clause for mandatory consent of 70 per cent of the residents before an SRA scheme can be cleared.

The SRA guidelines had raised a lot of hue and cry soon after they were made public on March 20. Raising the issue in the state assembly MLA Chandrakant Chhajed had expressed concern that in absence of a provision for mandatory consent of 70 per cent slum dwellers to the SRA schemes, the city will be grabbed by land mafias and builders will grossly misuse the guidelines.

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=232907