PAPs get PTC homes: 2nd lot of Malad slum dwellers relocated to hasten road work
It is for the first time that project affected people (PAPs) have been relocated in PTC homes, given the shortage of space for their relocation. In February, the first lot of 110 residents were relocated to PTC homes in the same building.
The idea for this mode of transfer was conceived in August 2024 through a Maharashtra government resolution (GR) which allowed the conversion of 50% of PTC homes, meant to accommodate residents whose homes are under SRA schemes for a rent, into PAP homes, meant for permanent housing.
A senior official from SRA told HT: 'The need for PTC homes is not big, while there is a shortage of homes for PAPs. Malad is the first place where such a conversion has been done; other areas will follow.'
A month after the GR was published, MP Piyush Goyal, who handed over the keys to the residents on Monday, wrote to SRA seeking quick conversion of 266 PTC homes in Malad, to hasten the road work.
'In the extension of Shankar Lane to the New Link Road is a missing 550-meter link, which when constructed, will offer additional access from Malvani, Jankalyan Nagar, Lalji Pada to and from the western express highway (WEH),' said Bhagyashree Kapse, deputy municipal commissioner, of Zone-4 of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). 'We hope that in the future this will help ease traffic on Marve Road and the Malad subway. With the second lot of relocation on Monday, phase 2 for the road's clearance has been achieved; we will soon begin phase 3.'
The total affected structures in the missing link were 357, of which 293 are residential and 53 commercial. 110 structures have already been demolished. Now, 64 structures, whose residents acquired the keys to their new homes on Monday, will be demolished. Residents of 183 structures remain to be rehabilitated, for phase 3 to commence.
An official from the BMC's P-North ward explained that around 181 of the PTC homes in the ward have been converted to PAP homes, and that the process to begin rehousing residents has been on since six months.
'Phase 3 will now take a few months, as the road's alignment has to be tweaked a few meters away from the Valnai metro station on New Link Road. Rehabilitation of the residents will begin after that,' said an official from P-North ward.
'We are happy to get pucca homes of 300 square feet and some stability,' said 50-year-old Mary Shetty. 'However, living in a chawl (which has been taken over to facilitate the road work) was better. Now, although we are in the same building we are scattered.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
2025 is mirroring 1941: Astrologer says ‘It's not a coincidence, but karma'
They say, 'History keeps repeating itself." However, we rarely stop to think about what that might actually look like in real life. Well, in today's fast-changing world, nothing really shocks us anymore, as we have seen the rise of the internet, AI, a global pandemic, civil wars, and so much more. But what if some of the events unfolding in 2025 are not as new as we think? According to well-known astrologer and spiritual guide Dr. Jai Madaan, what we are living through now might be deeply connected to the past, specifically, the year 1941. She believes that the events happening in 2025 are not just a coincidence, but a reflection of how the universe works in cycles, with energy and patterns repeating across time. 2025 is mirroring 1941: Astrologer says 'It's not a coincidence, but karma'(Freepik) ALSO READ: Buck Moon: July 2025 Horoscope for each sun sign and how to make the most of its energy 'History does not repeat, it rhymes through energy,' Dr. Jai Madaan said in a conversation with Hindustan Times. She believes that what we are experiencing in 2025 is 'not a random set of events but a karmic echo of 1941.' Back in 1941, the world was under a heavy astrological influence: the Mars-Saturn conflict. 'It was a time of unstoppable aggression and unfinished karmic debts,' she explains. That year, both Saturn and Uranus sat in Taurus, a combination known for causing conflicts over land, food crises, and financial instability. Fast forward to 2025, and Dr. Madaan points out some striking similarities. Saturn is now in Pisces, a sign known for dissolving boundaries and creating confusion. Meanwhile, Rahu (the North Node of the Moon) is in Aries, the fiery sign ruled by Mars. 'This fuels impulsive decisions, ego-driven wars, and widespread unrest,' says Dr. Madaan. But she goes even deeper, talking about 'energetic memory.' She explains, 'Certain years hold on to the leftover karma of past global events. It is as if the Earth itself remembers. The energy that led to a world war in 1941 is resurfacing now because humanity did not truly heal it; we only delayed it.' Dr. Madaan warns that 2025 is a critical turning point. With the lunar nodes (Rahu and Ketu) activating the Aries-Libra axis, we are looking at power struggles and challenges to diplomacy worldwide. And with Pluto slowly moving into Aquarius, we can expect radical technological, political, and social movement shifts. Despite these intense forecasts, Dr. Madaan stresses that astrology should not create fear. '2025 is not here to punish us, but to help us cleanse and evolve,' she explains. Much like 1941 set the stage for significant changes in the world order, 2025 offers us a chance for spiritual awakening, if we choose consciousness over chaos. When asked if we can change our destiny, Dr. Madaan is clear and inspiring: 'Always. But only for those who understand that time is not a straight line, it is a spiral. The wise ones learn from the loop.' ALSO READ: Atmakaraka: The planet that may reveal your soul's purpose and karmic lessons As we move through 2025, Dr. Madaan encourages us to see this period not as a threat but as an opportunity to rise, heal, and grow. After all, the stars might guide us, but we are the ones who write the story.
Hindustan Times
9 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Andheri-Goregaon bridge stuck for 3 years to finally take off in August
MUMBAI: Three years after an additional bridge between Andheri West and Goregaon West was given the go-ahead, work on it is yet to begin. Awaiting permission from the Bombay high court which rolled in this May, things can now pick up speed—except for a hindrance by way of 2,500 slum tenements coming in the way. The BMC is, however, prepared with a plan to tackle them, and get the bridge work started off in August. 'This bridge will be a game changer for short-distance travel between Andheri and Goregaon, as the New Link Road is perpetually congested,' said Dhaval Shah, co-founder of the Andheri Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizens Association. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times) The ₹499.20-crore bridge, another cable-stayed bridge that the BMC is adding to its roster, will begin at the slum-populated Shahid Bhagat Singh Nagar in Goregaon West, go over the Goregaon creek at its banks and land at Masjid As Salam Chowk in Millat Nagar, Andheri West. Offering an alternative to the congested New Link Road, it is expected to improve connectivity between Andheri, Oshiwara, Lokhandwala and Goregaon. After it was initially approved at the end of 2022 by the BMC, the bridge was in for the long haul. Passing as it did through multiple CRZ areas and No Developmental Zone (NDZ) areas due to the mangroves, marshy areas and creek present, a long list of permissions—from the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA), forest department and high court were awaited. Bids were invited from contractors simultaneously. While the contract cost is at ₹499.20 crore, the total projects cost, including overheads, is at ₹694 crore. A few months on, in May 2023, the MCZMA gave its clearance, on condition that the CRZ Notification, 2019 was abided by. It further asked the BMC to construct the bridge on stilts to reduce the impact on the mangroves, with a warning that local fishermen activity and the flow of creek water not be impeded and solid waste not be dumped in the creek. Due to a 2018 high court order mandating the court's prior permission to construction in mangrove and mangrove buffer zones, the BMC put in an application for HC permission in 2024, revealing that 31 mangroves would have to be felled, for which it would plant 444 mangroves as compensatory afforestation. In May 2025, when the court gave its assent, rationalising the bridge as being in the public interest. 'The project is a public utility project proposed for traffic management to smoothen the vehicular congestion and to improve direct connectivity of underdeveloped areas,' (Sic) it said. 'This bridge will be a game changer for short-distance travel between Andheri and Goregaon, as the New Link Road is perpetually congested,' said Dhaval Shah, co-founder of the Andheri Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizens Association, who travels for 45 minutes from Lokhandwala to Goregaon daily for work. 'But its relevance depends entirely on when it does get built. If it takes ages to become reality, as it does appear, due to the slums in Bhagat Singh Nagar, the conditions may have completely changed by then. The planned Versova-Dahisar Link Road will also add connectivity between these areas, so this may not be in great demand then.' In response, a BMC official from the bridge department said that instead, the bridge would aid connectivity of the north coastal road to the surrounding area and help local connectivity. The BMC is equipped with a plan for the slums. Additional municipal commissioner Abhijeet Bangar, who visited the site on Wednesday, said, 'Excavation work on the Andheri West side will start around August. On the Goregaon side, where the slums remain to be cleared, there is an ongoing SRA project, and the developer has assured us that he will clear all the homes in the bridge's way in the next few months. All permissions are in, so we're hopeful that work will soon take off smoothly.' Next bridge: Bridge from MDP Road over Ramchandra Nalla to Ryan International School, Malad-Marve Road in Malad.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Hindustan Times
PAPs get PTC homes: 2nd lot of Malad slum dwellers relocated to hasten road work
MUMBAI: Sixty four slum residents from Shankar Lane, Malad, received keys to their new homes in Slum Rehabilitation Authority's (SRA) permanent transit camp (PTC) in Sairaj Guriyapada building, located at a 10-minute drive from their original addresses, on Monday, to pave the way for the first two phases of the extension of Shankar Lane to the Gautam Buddh Marg, leading to the New Link Road. This stretch measures 150 meters. Mumbai, India - June 9, 2016:Aerial view of Malvani slum at Malad in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, June 9, 2016. (Photo by Pratham Gokhale/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times) It is for the first time that project affected people (PAPs) have been relocated in PTC homes, given the shortage of space for their relocation. In February, the first lot of 110 residents were relocated to PTC homes in the same building. The idea for this mode of transfer was conceived in August 2024 through a Maharashtra government resolution (GR) which allowed the conversion of 50% of PTC homes, meant to accommodate residents whose homes are under SRA schemes for a rent, into PAP homes, meant for permanent housing. A senior official from SRA told HT: 'The need for PTC homes is not big, while there is a shortage of homes for PAPs. Malad is the first place where such a conversion has been done; other areas will follow.' A month after the GR was published, MP Piyush Goyal, who handed over the keys to the residents on Monday, wrote to SRA seeking quick conversion of 266 PTC homes in Malad, to hasten the road work. 'In the extension of Shankar Lane to the New Link Road is a missing 550-meter link, which when constructed, will offer additional access from Malvani, Jankalyan Nagar, Lalji Pada to and from the western express highway (WEH),' said Bhagyashree Kapse, deputy municipal commissioner, of Zone-4 of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). 'We hope that in the future this will help ease traffic on Marve Road and the Malad subway. With the second lot of relocation on Monday, phase 2 for the road's clearance has been achieved; we will soon begin phase 3.' The total affected structures in the missing link were 357, of which 293 are residential and 53 commercial. 110 structures have already been demolished. Now, 64 structures, whose residents acquired the keys to their new homes on Monday, will be demolished. Residents of 183 structures remain to be rehabilitated, for phase 3 to commence. An official from the BMC's P-North ward explained that around 181 of the PTC homes in the ward have been converted to PAP homes, and that the process to begin rehousing residents has been on since six months. 'Phase 3 will now take a few months, as the road's alignment has to be tweaked a few meters away from the Valnai metro station on New Link Road. Rehabilitation of the residents will begin after that,' said an official from P-North ward. 'We are happy to get pucca homes of 300 square feet and some stability,' said 50-year-old Mary Shetty. 'However, living in a chawl (which has been taken over to facilitate the road work) was better. Now, although we are in the same building we are scattered.'
