New Delhi [India], August 10 : Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Arvind Sawant on Monday raised the issue of the demolition of hutments at Darukhana in Mumbai through a notice under Rule 377 in the Lok Sabha, urging the Central Government to allow displaced families to reoccupy their demolished homes until a proper rehabilitation plan is implemented.
A notice under Rule 377 in Lok Sabha allows MPs to raise matters which are not Points of Order or which have not been raised during the same session under any other rule.
In his notice shared on X, Sawant highlighted that he had previously flagged the matter of rehabilitating hutment dwellers residing on Central Government land, to which the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs had responded positively.
However, he claimed that it was different from the ground reality. "On the eve of the monsoon, nearly 98 hutments at Darukhana on the land of Mumbai Port Authority were demolished, displacing families who had been residing there for decades, despite the assurance given by the then Shipping Minister on the floor of the Parliament regarding their rehabilitation in tune with the Slum Rehabilitation Scheme of the Government of Maharashtra," he stated in the notice.
Sawant noted that "these poor families continue to live on the lands belonging to the Railways, Mumbai Port Authority, BARC, Defence establishments, Airports Authority of India, LIC, and other Central Government Ministries."
He attributed the lack of resolution to inaction from concerned ministries, stating that they "have consistently taken the position that they are unable to undertake rehabilitation in the absence of a comprehensive and holistic rehabilitation policy."
https://x.com/AGSawant/status/2086766123165561014?s=20
Taking a dig at the Centre over earlier housing commitment, Sawant said, "As a result, the dream of providing pucca ghar by the Hon'ble Prime Minister to these families has remained unfulfilled."
Sawant urged the government to intervene, stating, "I urge the Government to allow the above displaced hutment dwellers situated at Darukhana on the land of Mumbai Port Authority (MPA) to reoccupy their demolished houses until their rehabilitation is completed."