Elphinstone Bridge row: Residents of all 19 buildings to get homes at same location, announces Maharashtra govt

The construction work for Elphinstone Bridge was expected to affect all the 19 buildings in the locality. However, with a new plan by the government, only two buildings will now be directly affected. File pic

In a sigh of relief to the residents living near the Elphinstone Bridge in Mumbai, the Maharashtra government on Monday announced that it will redevelop 19 buildings in the area and provide them with new homes at the same location, an official statement said.

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According to the statement, the decision was taken in a high-level meeting chaired by Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis and attended by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde at the Sahyadri Guest House in Mumbai amid the ongoing Elphinstone Bridge row.

Senior officials from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), etc were also present at the meeting, the statement said.

Maharashtra minister Ashish Shelar said that local Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Kalidas Kolambkar and a delegation of residents had requested that the redevelopment take place without displacing them from their area. Following this, the issue was raised during Tuesday's meeting.

According to the official statement, initially, the construction work for Elphinstone Bridge was expected to affect all the 19 buildings in the locality. However, with a new plan by the government, only two buildings will now be directly affected. However, the residents continue to worry that the remaining 17 buildings might also face a risk due to the construction work.

To address their concern, Shelar requested that the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) carry out the redevelopment of all the 19 buildings under Section 33(9) without waiting for a private developer. CM Fadnavis has accepted the request.

It was also demanded that the residents of the two affected buildings be provided with redeveloped houses at the same location instead of shifting them to Kurla or paying them compensation. This demand has also been met by the CM and the deputy CM, the statement said.

As per the plan, only the residents of two buildings will be temporarily relocated to the transit accommodation in Kurla. Once the redevelopment of the remaining 17 buildings is complete, these residents will also be given permanent homes at the same location, the official statement said.

"Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde have given great relief to the people especially the locals by ensuring in-situ housing for the affected residents," said Shelar.