epaper.dnaindia.com MUMBAI l www.dnaindia.com l facebook.com/dnaindia 4 WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2011 CITY l twitter.com/dna l dnaindia.com/mobile Slum-free Mumbai may become a reality Centre to open up saltpan and government-owned land to build affordable homes under the Rajiv Awas Yojana DNA Correspondent nomically weaker section. holder has to work hard and CM mulls unlocking saltpan land Shailja said the plan was to honestly. The local corpora- A slum-free Mumbai? It may bring all existing slums with- tion will create an infrastruc- Shubhangi Khapre become a reality if the Central in the formal system, thus en- ture so that the existing one The big question is how much of the government’s decision to give abling them to avail all basic is not burdened. Developers’ The state government is plan- 2,177 hectares of saltpan land will be affordable houses to all slum facilities. “It will help control participation is also crucial.” ning to reconsider develop- made available for the government dwellers under its Rajiv Awas the growth of slums and pre- But, urban planners are not ment of 2,177 hectares of salt —A senior official Yojana is a success. pare the city for urban devel- convinced. “Earlier, we have pan land in Mumbai. And to create space for con- opment. We are also setting given houses to pre-1995 Chief minister Prithviraj Cha- structing affordable houses up a financial mechanism of- slum dwellers. The govern- van on Tuesday indicated that upon. They are under litiga- tre for the land holding such as for the poor and weaker sec- fering risk mortgage fund, ment wanted to extend the saltpan land, which is under tions,” said a senior housing de- the Bombay Port Trust, Indian tion of society, the Centre has where the person who will be deadline, but the court had Centre’s control, needs to be partment official. Railways and defence. decided to open up saltpan allotted a home has a pay a objected. So, to allure the slum explored to strengthen its land Individuals who hold salt- Sources in Mantralaya said: and government-owned land. minimum amount,” she said. dwellers, the government has bank as affordable housing pan land on lease will also “We are not sure how the Cha- Kumari Shailja, minister of “To implement the scheme come up with the Rajiv Awas projects could come up there. claim their rights to the land van government wants to re- central housing and urban successfully across India, the Yojana, which is just an im- But, the state government and demand compensation. develop the land. There are two poverty alleviation, and chief Centre will offer 50% funds for proved version of the SRA,” reckons that Centre-state will The more complex issue is the options. One to rope in private minister Prithviraj Chavan re- the construction of affordable said an urban planner. have to come to a consensus on non-clarity on land holding un- players, who will build the leased the Rajiv Awas Yojana houses. The rest will be raised Developers believe that the ABOUT THE SCHEME land-sharing as it has been a der the Centre and state. The houses and hand them over to documents on Tuesday. by the state and the person government needs to think The Rajiv Awas Yojana, which Under this scheme, the bone of contention for the last state government’s proposal to government to rehabilitate DNA had earlier reported who will get the house.” out of the box. “Whenever was launched by the Centre on Centre will provide 50% funds three decades. “The big ques- resolve the dispute by agreeing PAPs free of cost. In exchange, that as part of the Rajiv Awas Chavan said the scheme polls are around the corner, the June 2, aims to provide affordable for the construction of low- tion is how much of the 2,177 to equal sharing of land was re- the government will give them Yojana, the government would will help to make Mumbai, government comes up with home to the poor and make India cost house. The rest will be hectares will be made available jected. by the Centre. The core incentives such as extra FSI. An- slum-free by 2017. More than 300 raised by the state ask private developers to keep and subsequently the state, such schemes. This scheme is cities are expected to benefit government and the person for the government. Almost committee in Delhi could not other option is that the Centre 20-25% of houses in all private slum-free. “It is the dream and very ambiguous and has sev- from the scheme who will be allotted the house 460 hectares of saltpan land make any progress as there were and state together develop salt- and public projects for the eco- to materialise it, each stake- eral loopholes,” said a builder. have been illegally encroached many claimants within the Cen- pan land and share the profit.” Mayor gets a personal assistant ● Shot in the arm of the gangster? DNA Correspondent makeover of the mayor, but Union prescription: Jadhav claims she needs an of- Mayor Shraddha Jadhav has ficial for better management appointed an official on spe- and to ease out the function- PORTUGAL COURT REVOKES Share-an-auto cial duty (OSD), who will be ing at the mayor’s office. The working as her personal as- OSD will be in charge of su- DNA Correspondent sistant. pervising all official commu- 41 PENALISED The official is believed to be nication between the mayor ABU SALEM’S EXTRADITION Reacting to pressure from sev- Wadala RTO officials penalised roped in for an image and others. DNA Correspondent eral quarters, union leader 41 auto rickshaw drivers in The extradition & the cases Sharad Rao, on Tuesday, made Kurla, Mulund, Ghatkopar and The Indian government will a proposal for the problem of Chembur. “The campaign will have to move the Portugal The Indian Gangster Salem had been extradited to India in tampered meters, fleecing go on for some more days until Supreme Court. government had 2005, in eight cases: The 1993 Mumbai serial and arbitrary fare refusals by there are demonstrable results Reason: The Portugal high given an blasts, two cases of forgery of passports from auto drivers. and the problem has been court has revoked gangster assurance to Lucknow, three cases of extortion in Delhi and two Rao said his union consid- brought under control Abu Salem’s extradition on Portugal that murder cases in Mumbai, including the killing of ers running auto rickshaws on substantially,” said an RTO Ajit Dewani, secretary of actress Manisha Koirala official the grounds that the Indian gangster Abu a shared basis as the ideal res- Government violated the ex- Salem would not While Salem was discharged in the Deewani olution for this problem. Run- be given death murder case, he was convicted in the passport tradition treaty. penalty, an ning only “share-a-rickshaw” able to do the journey at a less- A senior Central Bureau of cases and 1993 serial blasts. The others are services for short distances er fare and the latter will be important pending for trial Investigations (CBI) official, requirement in with fixed fares, distances and assured more money due to who was associated with case extradition Before his extradition, he had served 39 stops; and limiting the regu- incentive formula, which en- in Mumbai, said: "The Indian proceedings in months in a Lisbon prison for entering Portugal lar metered autorickshaw ables earning additional 33% government will have to harp Europe on a forged document services for longer distances overall fares in the scheme,” on the ‘Rule of Speciality’ be- will solve the problems com- said Rao. fore the Portugal SC. Accord- muters and drivers have. He insisted that the union ing to the rule of speciality, if gating agencies of violating that the extradition treaty der and only then would he be “About 80% of the trips has always been making efforts an accused is extradited for the conditions under which was not binding on the Indi- able to comment on the order. done by auto rickshaws are for to open such services in the city one set of offence, he also can he was permitted to be tak- an courts and for the crimes However, if India fails to short distances, while only to overcome this problem but be tried for offences which en to India in November in which he was being tried." convince the Portuguese ju- 20% are for long distances. the transport department has arise from the primary of- 2005, to face trial in eight Salem’s counsel had ap- diciary, Salem may have to be These 80% trips can be done not been responsive. “We had fence. For example, if some- cases, including the 1993 se- proached the Portuguese HC sent back to a jail in Lisbon. on a shared basis. This will en- demanded between 400 and one is extradited for a murder rial blasts in Mumbai. after the Supreme Court dis- Advocate Rohini Salian, sure that both the commuters 450 share-a-rickshaw stands offence, he can also be tried The CBI while extradited missed his plea last year and who appears for the Nation- and auto rickshaw drivers across the city but only 80 have for a simple hurt offence." Salem and his actress girl- upheld the designated TADA al Investigation Agency, said: benefit as the former will be been granted permissions.” Special public prosecutor friend Monica Bedi had given court’s decision to frame ad- “It will be premature to com- Ujjwal Nikam, who is ap- an assurance to Portugal that ditional charges against ment on the order, but if it pearing in the 1993 serial he would not be given death Salem for the 1993 blasts, in has been passed then the In- blasts case against Salem, penalty or charged with any addition to the other grave dian government will have to said: “The government has to section of the law which en- charges for which he was ex- appeal in their SC and prove challenge the order in the tails more than 25 years in jail.