Sankaran defends M'rashtra govt on slums

Defending state government's decision to regularaise the slums upto 2000, Chief Secretary D K Sankaran said, "It involves enormus numbers and had state government decided bulldozed those slums, there would have been violent backlash."

He was speaking at media interaction organised by the NGO Mumbai First and CII. However, Sankaran didn't forget to add that, state government will abide by the courts decision which is currently hearing PIL on this matter which has challenged the state government's decision to extend protection slums which have come up after 1995 and before 2000.

We are making all out efforts to ensure no fresh slum develop in the city and even law has been enacted to hold local civic and police official responsible, he said.

He further said, we are in process of rehabilitating 80,000 slum dwellers to make way for airport modernisation program but as these are delicate matters and involved human beings it is taking time".

We have to offer them, reasonable and just rehabilitation package which will be acceptable to slum dwellers. We just can't wish them away, he added

Claiming that, in past never such a political will was seen for Mumbai's infrastructure projects both at central and state level Sankaran sighted, number of projects under taken to improve Mumbai's infrastructure and gave details regarding their progress.

After Bandra-Worli sea link Worli-Nariman point sea link project will be the next flag ship project, he claimed and just like Gateway of India, these bridges will be architectural signature of Mumbai, he claimed.