Mumbai:
South Mumbai Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant today wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to "grant justice" to the residents of the illegal flats in the Campa Cola compound here who have been asked to vacate their houses.
Over 90 illegal flats in the complex are set to be demolished. Mr Sawant told PTI that it was "inhuman" to ask the residents to hand over their flats 30 years after their construction.
"Even people living in slums are given free houses in Maharashtra. Then why ask these innocent people to leave their homes after 30 years? Where will they go in the monsoon?" Mr Sawant said.
He demanded that these illegal flats be regularised after the levying of a penalty. He also expressed fear that the demolition of the upper-storey flats may damage the entire building.
"If the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai was serious about demolishing the illegal flats, it should have been done so in 1984, when they were built, he added. I have urged the Prime Minister to appeal to Supreme Court to reopen the case and hear out the residents. If there is anybody to be blamed, it is the authorities and the builder. Take action against them," he said.