Maha govt to bring law to protect residents of transit camps

Mumbai, July 17 (IANS) Maharashtra Industry Minister Uday Samant informed the state legislative council on Thursday that the government will enact a law to provide relief to residents living in transit camps across Mumbai. 

The proposed legislation will ensure timely rent payments to families housed in these camps and expedite the completion of delayed redevelopment projects.

Samant said several chawls and colonies in Mumbai are undergoing redevelopment, and their residents have been shifted to transit accommodations. However, many of them are not receiving rent as promised and are forced to live in transit camps for extended periods due to delays in project execution.

He was responding to a calling attention motion moved by member Shashikant Shinde and a supplementary question raised by member Praveen Darekar.

“There have been instances where builders begin redevelopment work but then abandon it midway. Meanwhile, the residents, who have been relocated to transit camps, are left without the promised rent,” Samant said.

“To address this, the government plans to enact a law that mandates rent payments and holds builders accountable. At present, there is no regulation governing how much rent should be paid to those in transit camps -- this too will be covered under the new legislation,” he added.

Samant further stated that the rules implemented during the redevelopment of BDD Chawls in Mumbai will be extended to residents of transit camps, ensuring they receive improved facilities once redevelopment is completed.

He added that the Chief Minister will convene a meeting to discuss the issue, and another meeting will be held in the Speaker’s chamber to find a solution for the rehabilitation of residents from BIT Chawls.

Meanwhile, Tribal Development Minister Ashok Uike assured the House that no employee of the state’s tribal ashram schools will face injustice under the ‘no work, no pay’ rule.

Responding to a calling attention motion moved by member Kiran Sarnaik, Uike said the rule was implemented following a court order and applies uniformly across all schools in the state.

He added, “If a school or a batch shuts down, there is a policy in place for staff adjustment. However, recruitment rules and service conditions differ for teachers and staff in Zilla Parishad schools and ashram schools run by the Tribal Development and Social Welfare departments. A special meeting will be convened soon to discuss the implementation of the 'no work, no pay' policy in tribal ashram schools.”

--IANS

sj/skp