‘Poor governance’ gave rise to illegal homes in Thane

Thane: Once a city with expansive green cover, famous for its lakes and a distinct cultural identity, Thane has now turned into a poster of uncontrolled constructions, traffic congestions and smog, a legacy of policy neglect by the state, failure of civic governance and amyopic political leadership. 

    In the last 15-20 years, the unplanned redevelopment in Naupada, Kopri and Uthalsar, illegal multistoried chawls and slums in Wagle Estate, Vartak Nagar, Kalwa and Kharegaon and the automobile-dependent development on the outskirts of Ghodbunder and Kolshet has turned Thane into one big urban sprawl. 
    The leafy, laid-back neighborhood of yore is now a bustling bedroom suburb of Mumbai, where 72% of the total 2.79 lakh homes are illegal. In the commercial sphere, 61% or 21,828 shops and business units of the total 35,304 are illegal. 
    "The reason for the mess is neglect by state urban planners. The basic needs of a growing city such as budget housing, land-use policy, transportation, etc, have been neglected. In the absence of adequate affordable homes, people are compelled to take shelter in illegal chawls and slums. Mhada, has failed to provide adequate housing stock in Thane despite availability of huge land parcels. The common man is left at the mercy of construction czars, fly-by-night realty firms and slumlords who reap benefits in the absence of legal and affordable homes provided by the state," said Shiv Sena MP Anand Paranjape. 
    Quoting a Mhada publication statistics, Paranjape said, Mhada built a mere 3,311 tenements in Thane city, Kalyan and Ulhasnagar in the last 35 years, while 8,068 residential plots were given away to co-operative groups for housing. Prior to the creation of Mhada in 1977, the Bombay Housing Board had built 2,854 houses in Thane under the State Industrial Housing Scheme (SIHS). 
    The slum redevelopment plan too failed in Thane as the FSI component is restricted to 2.5 as against 3 in Mumbai. "While the carpet size of the free sale tenement is fixed at 269 sq ft in Mumbai and Thane, the extra FSI given to Mumbai developers is denied to Thane builders," said Paranjape. 
    An "ineffective" civic administration which has failed to implement Thane's Development Plan (DP). A Thane based-activist, Nitin Deshpande, said, "The civic governance has collapsed because of the powerful cartel of contractors, civic officials and political leaders who profited from unauthorized constructions." 
    Prominent architects, who requested anonymity, said Thane's 1999 DP identified and reserved 802 plots for parks, playgrounds, crematoriums, public schools, commercial shops etc. "Most of these were encroached as civic officials, in cahoots with slumlords and politicians, failed to acquire them in time. Over 250 reserved plots were illegally occupied by slumlords, who built chawls and buildings and sold the tenements at easy-on-pocket rates. Plots reserved for roads, service ways, schools, etc, were gobbled up by the informal housing industry. The Wagle Estate, Kalwa and Kharegaon belt reflects absence of civic governance," an architect said. 
    "Adequate thought is not being given by the administration to the land-use plan for the 500-plus acres of industrial land in Thane-Kalwa belt, which would be put on the block for residential and commercial use following closures of industries," the architect said. 
    "Thane was treated like a fiefdom with a top Sena leader running the administration without any progressive ideas. For instance, the Thane Municipal Transport (TMT) was turned into a feather-bed for sympathizers or activists of the ruling party who were recruited on whims, never mind if they met the standards, " said NCP leader Jitendra Awhad. LOST IN TRANSFORMATION 
72% of the 2.79 lakh homes in Thane are illegal 61% or 21,828 business units of the total 35,304 are illegal 
    3,311 tenements were built by Mhada in Thane city, Kalyan and Ulhasnagar in the past 35 years, while 8,068 residential plots were given away to cooperative groups for housing. Prior to the creation of Mhada in 1977, the Bombay Housing Board had built 2,854 houses