BMC razes 400 huts on AAI's Juhu plot

In a demolition drive on Thursday, the BMC razed 400 semi-permanent structures belonging to the Airports Authority of India (AAI), located behind the Juhu police station.
But what was more noticeable was the manner in which the AAI officials waited at the site with their workers to begin their construction work as soon as the land got vacated.
Though the hutment dwellers protested the demolition, alleging that they were being displaced without giving adequate notice, the BMC and AAI officials said that notices had been issued to them well in advance.
Though the demolition began at 10 am, bulldozers and workers started pouring in by 8 am, leaving the slumdwellers with no choice but to move out their belongings. "We are construction workers. Where do we go from here? We have been staying here for many years," said Selvam.
The AAI had been trying for a long time to get the hutments-spread on four acres of land-vacated. Most of the huts are semi-temporary, with cement walls and tinned ceilings.
AAI sources said that the land was earmarked for construction of a hangar. With the ongoing development of airports, both domestic and international, the AAI wants to develop the hangar and carry out other development plans on the plot which is believed to have a market value of over Rs 300 crore.
25/04/08 Times of India

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Categories: Airports Apr 2008