To avoid similar incidents, slum residents living on vulnerable sites to be relocated

To prevent landslide-like incidents that recently took place in Chembur and Vikhroli, the state government has planned to relocate slum residents living on vulnerable sites. On Monday, state environment minister Aaditya Thackeray held a meeting with Mumbai suburban collector along with ward officers, whose jurisdiction have maximum landslide-prone sites.

Officials from the BMC, who were part of the meeting, said the government was planning to relocate people living within 10 metres of retaining or compound wall from New Bharat Nagar in Chembur. Apart from this, Aaditya also directed to conduct a survey of retaining walls constructed on the hillside to prevent landslide, and even those areas where the retaining wall is yet to be constructed.

In the landslide-like incident in Chembur, 19 slum residents from New Bharat Nagar died, while 10 died in a similar incident at Vikhroli.

Officials said close to 400 families were living within 10 metres of the retaining wall in New Bharat Nagar. “As a preventive measure, people living within 10 metres of the retaining wall will be rehabilitated. However, a list of people will be prepared by collector’s office, and it will have to provide options for accommodation. Survey of all landslide areas will be conducted once again and construction work of retaining walls will be expedited. Collector and MHADA offices are responsible for constructing the retaining walls,” said a senior official from the BMC, who was also present at the meeting.

Aaditya, in a tweet, said work to construct landslide protection walls will be expedited. “Expediting all pending backlog of landslide protection walls to keep no request pending by 2022-2023. Last year and this year also we have cleared maximum requests. Work on auditing the vulnerability of the region and alternate plans for the same,” he tweeted.