Landslide: Slums in Mumbai to be protected

Every year during monsoons, landslides cause a few mishaps in many hillocks of the city which are occupied by slum pockets.
Taking note of this, the Mumbai Slum Improvement Board of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) has carved out a comprehensive programme to protect these slum dwellers - either by rehabilitation or through constructing protective walls surrounding them.  

According to Veluswamy Naidu, chairman of the board, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT, Powai) has prepared a report which has come up with a number of recommendations for the protection of these slums.

“The report has given individual solution for all the 104 different locations in eastern and western suburbs of the city. The solutions include construction of retaining walls, or providing High Energy Absorption (HEA) panels, which act as barriers or even complete rehabilitation of some of the slums where such preventive measures are difficult to implement,” said Naidu. 

Earlier on Friday, during the review meeting of the board officials, Mos Housing Sachin Ahir said that he has instructed the officials to speed up the implementation process.

“We also have to ensure that once rehabilitated, these slums do not mushroom in the same vicinity. I have asked the officials to work along with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, suburban collector as well as some Non-Government Organisations to ensure the slum prevention,” said Ahir.