Rehab unlikely for half of airport land squatters

Mumbai: The suburban collector’s office has asked 80,000 slum dweller families, who have encroached on airport land in Sahar, to prove their eligibility for the purpose of their rehabilitation.
But local residents are averse to slum dwellers filing affidavits and proving that they have been residing on the land from before January 1, 2000.
Of the 80,000 families, more than 50% purchased huts after 2000 and are now worried about being left homeless. “I purchased the hut after 2000. I am afraid that we will be considered illegal in spite of voting six times since 2000,” Abdul Sheikh, a slum dweller on the airport land, said.
However, there’s some hope for Sheikh. “There is no such provision in the Rehabilitation and Resettlement (R&R) policy 2007 with regards to the cut-off dates for the purpose of eligibility for rehabilitation. The Airports Authority of India comes under the central government. The collector’s office cannot apply the state law to properties owned by the central government,” said advocate Godfrey Pimenta, president, Sahar Citizens’ Forum. “Therefore, the demand on part of the collector’s office, asking slum dwellers to furnish the affidavits in the required format about their eligibility for rehabilitation is unwarranted and uncalled for,” Nicholas Almeida, a Sahar local resident, said.
19/01/10 Linah Baliga/Times of India

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Categories: Airports Jan 2010