Man had rented out flat allotted to him; TMC announces drive against practice
THANE: A tenant of Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) rental homes let out his temporary home to earn a quick buck. The Thane Municipal Corporation has registered a case against both the tenant and the person to whom the house was rented.
This is the first time that the TMC has taken action against a tenant.
In June, the TMC l ear nt that some tenants in the rental homes have either rented their houses or sold them. It decided to probe and take action against them.
Sandee p Malvi, TMC’s public relations officer, said: “Mujjatamil Vakilkhan Jainab Khan was given the house last year after his dangerous building Rehmani in Mumbra was vacated. Instead of living in the building, Khan gave the flat to Zuber Ahmed Choudhari. We have registered cases against both Khan and Choudhari in the Vartak Nagar police station.”
P Gavit, inspector, Vartak Nagar Police station, said, “The TMC has sent us a complain and asked us to register a case. The process is underway, we have not registered an FIR yet.”
The TMC charges Rs2,000 a month for 160square-feet flats. The municipal corporation refused to reveal how much rent Choudhari was paying for the home.
A TMC officer, requesting anonymity, said: “I can’t divulge the exact figure but the rent paid by Choudhari was more than twice what we charge for these flats.”
After the Shil Phata building collapse in April 2013, the municipal corporation took possession of these rental homes from the MMRDA at Vartak Nagar. The homes were supposed to provide shelter to those who were rendered homeless during incidents of building collapse or demolition of dangerous constructions.
Out of 1,800 rental homes, around 1,400 are occupied. More than 5,000 people live in these homes. The officer claimed that people who do not want to vacate the homes, or leave their claims on the homes, or wish to make some quick bucks have rented these homes.
The TMC formed two special t eams, a flying squad and a vigilant squad to crack down on such residents. The officer added, “We suspect that there are several more such tenants and the action will continue.”
ABOUT RENTAL HOMES
The MMRDA built rental homes in Vartak Nagar for the rehabilitation of people living in dangerous structures in 2013. Out of the 1,492 homes, around 1,000 are occupied. Each flat is 160sqft and residents have to pay Rs2,000 rent every month. The cluster of four buildings has 40 shops. The buildings have a sewage treatment plant, solar panels, two play schools and two community halls
The MMRDA buildings at Vartak Nagar.
“We suspect that there are several more such tenants [who have rented out flats allotted to them] and the action against them will continue.” THANE MUNICIPAL CORPORATION OFFICIAL
BSUP HOMES TOO COME UNDER SCANNER
The municipal corporation fears that like rental homes, people may have sold or rented out homes allotted under the Basic Services for Urban Poor (BSUP) scheme, too. The BSUP scheme was launched to make Thane slum-free. The corporation has constructed 7,000 homes under this scheme for slum dwellers in areas such as Tulsidham, Khartan Road, Siddharth Nagar and Mahatma Phule Nagar. The municipal corporation plans to investigate these homes after the MMRDA flats.
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