Vadodara civic body reaches out to displaced families, assures homes

The VMC official handed out a list of families that need to be settled in civic housing projects after their homes were razed.

A day after The Indian Express reported about the suspension of draw of allotment for JNNURM housing scheme flats for residents displaced due to demolition drives at Kalyannagar and Kamatipura slums — most of them are Muslims —Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) assured the representatives of the displaced families that they would soon have a home to call their own.

Although non-committal about a time frame, owing to the lack of communication from Mayor Bharat Shah, corporation officials assured representatives pushing the families’ case that the matter would be resolved “at the earliest”.

Municipal Commissioner H S Patel, who had refused to meet the representatives Wednesday, sent executive engineer of Basic Services to Urban Poor Housing department F J Charpot to meet Prof JS Bandukwala, who has taken up the cause of the evicted.

The VMC official handed out a list of families that need to be settled in civic housing projects after their homes were razed in November to Bandukwala. Shaukat Indori, one of those fighting for the evicted families, said: “The engineer met Bandukwala with a list of 481 families of Kalyannagar alone. In addition, nearly 170 families of Kamatipura settlement who have not been rehabilitated are also awaiting their turn. Bandukwala has also requested VMC to resolve the matter of 268 other families that have been temporarily put up in Maneja.”

VMC officials said conducting the draw is not in their hands as it needs the “Mayor’s presence”, but there can be no revoking of those relocated in Kisanwadi and Maneja areas.

Commissioner Patel told The Indian Express, “We will finalise the allotment. We will find a way out”.

Source:: Indian Express