Civic body’s relocation of slum dwellers living along the Sabarmati riverfront has drawn flak from the affected families. As many as 200 families protested against the relocation drive of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) from their present location on riverfront to far off areas in Vatva, Naroda, among other areas with no livelihood options. They protested at municipal headquarters at Danapith on Monday.
Jan Sangharsh Manch (JSM) lawyer Mukul Sinha met AMC officials raising their grievances. “The drive is a sham. AMC authorities have completely deviated from the original plan of riverfront which was passed by the authorities,” Sinha said. He added that in the original plan, the slum dwellers were allotted 15.48 ha of land on the riverfront for their housing schemes which is a fraud.
According to original plan, Dudheshwar, Gaikwad and Paldi areas on riverfront were marked for housing for poor. Sabarmati Riverfront Development Corporation Limited (SRFDCL) authorities are facing a major challenge of slum relocation in the project. A senior SRFDCL official admitted that most construction work involving laying pipelines and retaining wall has been delayed due to slums on the location.
Shamd Khan, a resident of Khanpur on Sabarmati riverfront, blamed AMC authorities for faulty survey done for allocation of EWS houses. “My brother’s name does not appear in the survey list and there are many like him missing from the list. We have been living here for many years, shifting to far off areas will ruin our livelihood.”
Source: The Times of India
