SRA to curb dual allotments

Mumbai: The Bombay high court has asked the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) to verify whether slum dwellers took dual benefit of various rehabilitation schemes.

The order came after a public interest litigation (PIL) brought to the notice of the court that some slum dwellers allotted flats in SRA schemes sold their homes and then reapplied for and got a second flat allotted under a different rehabilitation scheme.

The PIL alleged that this was both misuse of the rehabilitation scheme and cheating that the SRA did not take note of despite being brought to its notice several times.

A division bench of Justices Ranjit More and Anuja Prabhudessai was hearing the PIL filed by activist Rahim Shaikh through advocate Vishwanath Patil.

The petitioner claimed that members of a society allotted flats under a rehabilitation scheme illegally sold and transferred their flats, and then obtained flats/tenements under a different slum rehabilitation scheme.

The petition also drew the court’s attention to an order passed in January 2017, where the court had directed the SRA and deputy collector to place on record what action was taken in many such cases of illegal transfer of slum dwellings that took place.

The petition said that the concerned authorities did not comply and hence, sought direction against them. The deputy collector and SRA admitted to non-compliance and said that they would file a compliance affidavit before the next date.

Focusing on the PIL, the bench then directed the SRA to file an affidavit whether records of protected occupiers and allotment of flats under the slum rehabilitation scheme were maintained.

The court further asked the SRA to enumerate the steps it was taking to ensure that flats allotted under slum rehabilitation schemes were not transferred or the same slum dwellers did not end up availing benefits of more than one slum redevelopment project.

The matter has been posted for hearing on August 16.