Organisations representing residents of the city's gaothans and koliwadas, many of which predate the establishment of the city, have thanked Mumbai Suburban district guardian minister and cultural affairs minister, Ashish Shelar, for directing government departments on Friday to mark all demarcated koliwadas in the city’s Development Plan (DP) within the next 60 days.
189 Gaothans, But Only 52 Demarcated
The groups, however, added that there are 189 gaothans in Mumbai, of which only 52 have been demarcated or officially marked on DP maps of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
The remaining 137 are unmarked with ambiguous boundaries, leading to repeated encroachments, unplanned development, lack of services, and conflicts between local residents and developers or authorities, said citizens' Watchdog Foundation. Because of this lack of clear status and administrative responsibility and control, many gaothans suffer from infrastructural neglect, poor public amenities, environmental hazards, and risk of loss of heritage, the group said. Inclusion in the DP will mean that the gaothans, so far excluded from planning schemes, can benefit from Floor Space Index and other schemes available for the rest of the city.
Watchdog Foundation Raises Concerns
"We write with deep concern on behalf of the residents/stakeholders of our gaothans and koliwadas in Mumbai regarding the urgent need to preserve, protect, and promote these traditional and culturally significant settlements," said Godfrey Pimenta, trustee, Watchdog Foundation, in a letter to Shelar on Saturday.
Watchdog Foundation proposed a timeline to survey and map the remaining gaothans. The group suggested that the demarcation process to distinguish the settlements from urban slums should be conducted with transparency and involvement of local residents and community leaders. Another suggestion was installation of physical boundary markers around the settlements and updating maps and records three months after the survey. This is to prevent BMC, Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA), MHADA and other government departments from identifying these areas as slums and including them in SRA projects.
A timeline of six months was suggested for the survey, four months for drafting DCPR specifications for the gaothans and koliwadas,cand public consultation or revisions based on feedback in two months.
Status of Koliwada Demarcation
Last week, Shelar said that out of 29 koliwadas have been demarcated, among which five disputed the boundary markings, requiring the need for a repeat of the survey. Three more koliwadas have been identified and are awaiting demarcation, Shelar added.
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