Slum land to be unlocked, used for Mum airport exp

Mumbai: Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said the government proposed to unlock 276 acres of slum land owned by the Airports Authority of India (AAI) around Mumbai airport with in-situ cluster development and some of this freed land could then be used for the expansion of the airport. During a discussion on slum rehabilitation and redevelopment in Mumbai in the state legislature, Fadnavis said, “By rehabilitating slum dwellers at the same place, the land could be unlocked. We would be able to return around 100 acres of land to AAI, which could then use it to expand the Mumbai airport.” Fadnavis said the AAI had given in-principle approval for a similar venture proposed under the previous BJP government. “We will take final approval from AAI and go for in-situ rehabilitation through cluster development projects. This way, slum dwellers can be provide d housing at the same location , and the land could be used for airport expansion.”

In 2012, the state government had given the slum rehabilitation of airport land to Sarang Wadh w a n - l e d HDIL, which failed to complete the project. “The SRA (Slum Rehabilitation Authority) houses built by HDIL are in a poor condition now. The CM has also directed the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to repair these homes and hand them over to SRA for future use,” he said. As much as 276 acres of AAI land is part of the 673 acres of Union government land under slum encroachment, Fadnavis said, adding that 8,333.53 acres of land is currently occupied by slums including 3,620 acres of private land, 2,140 acres of government land, 856 acres of BMC land, and 272 acres of In 2012, the state government had given the slum rehabilitation of airport land to Sarang Wadh w a n - l e d HDIL, which failed to complete the project. “The SRA (Slum Rehabilitation Authority) houses built by HDIL are in a poor condition now. The CM has also directed the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to repair these homes and hand them over to SRA for future use,” he said. As much as 276 acres of AAI land is part of the 673 acres of Union government land under slum encroachment, Fadnavis said, adding that 8,333.53 acres of land is currently occupied by slums including 3,620 acres of private land, 2,140 acres of government land, 856 acres of BMC land, and 272 acres of