Mill tenants in Mumbai to get accommodation before eviction

Tenants of cotton textile mills in Mumbai no longer have to live in the perennial fear of being evicted without an alternative.

The Maharashtra government, with an eye on the Assembly elections, has ordered that owners who want to develop mill land for building shopping malls, offices or residential complexes cannot evict a tenant till such time he/she is provided with an alternative accommodation of the size of 225 sq ft carpet area.

The order, which comes as a respite to thousands of tenants in Mumbai, has been taken by the State Government as it was flooded with complaints about eviction of occupants of tenements in the premises of cotton textile mills.

As per the Development Control Regulations for Greater Mumbai, 1991, under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966, if and when the built-up area of a cotton textile mill is occupied for residential purposes as on January 1, 2000, it will be obligatory on the part of the landowner to provide to the occupant free of cost an alternative tenement of the size of 225 sq ft carpet area in lieu of each tenement covered by the development or redevelopment scheme.

However, the regulation does not provide any protection to the occupants of tenements till actual development is completed in all respects.

A notification issued by the urban development department on May 25 states that "provided that no such occupants (tenants of cotton textile mills) shall be evicted till such time, he/she is provided with alternative accommodation of the size of 225 sq ft carpet area in such development or redevelopment scheme shall be added after the words 'an alternative tenement of the size of 225 sq ft carpet area'.