'Hoping to save our homes and businesses by going to Delhi'

MbPT lessees, tenants, and occupants at a meeting earlier this year where Pervez Cooper spoke about his eviction at Nazir building at Ballard Estate

A group of 15 lessees, tenants, and occupants of the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) plots and structures along the Eastern Water front from Colaba to Wadala-Sewri will meet Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari. Today, the MbPT tenants who have been fighting the eviction notices being issued to them were to have a big protest near Regal in the city. But the Delhi call has lead them to postpone that plan.

MbPT lessees, tenants, and occupants at a meeting earlier this year where Pervez Cooper spoke about his eviction at Nazir building at Ballard Estate. Pic/Sameer Markande

Pervez Cooper who was evicted last year along with other business people from Ballard Estate's Nazir building said, "We have been meeting politicians from across the political spectrum to save our homes and businesses. On Saturday, we met Sharad Pawar at his residence near Breach Candy hospital. He heard our problems and arranged a meeting in Delhi with Gadkari."

Sharad Pawar with MbPT tenants at his bungalow on Saturday when he heard their problems and then organised for their meet with Nitin Gadkari

Nitin Gadkari met the MbPT tenants two months ago at Mahalakshmi Race Course at an event briefly, where he had promised to look into the eviction notice matter. Preeti Shenoy whose building at Darukhana has received a notice said, "To save our homes, we are ready to go anywhere. Advocate Viren Asar who has been fighting cases for many MbPT tenants will be talking to Gadkari on our behalf in our meeting at 4:30 pm on Thursday. Depending on what happens in the meeting we will decide whether to go ahead with the protest that we have postponed."

Viren Asar has prepared a memorandum on behalf of the tenants which he will present to Gadkari. The issues raised in that are - the en-masse termination notices being issued by the MbPT and the Eviction proceedings under the draconian Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971. With the MbPT's recent actions terminating tenancies and leases the people's constant fear of eviction from homes, businesses and places of work will also be addressed.

"The right way for Gadkari to go ahead with our issue is to call a meeting with his secretary and the bureaucrats and take stock. There has been too much of looking into the matter but nothing concrete has happened. Subodh Sapre will be another person who will speak along with Viren Asar for us. Nazir building eviction, landlords running away as we still pay rents are all issues that have been overlooked. This is a moment of desperation and we can only hope for the best," said Meher Sanjana from Colaba who is also part of the group.

If their houses and businesses go, the MbPT tenants say, they will have no place to stay. "Our forefather have been living here for years. This is our home or our office spaces, the government can't take it away like this. A few pillars of our movement are going to meet Gadkari, we are praying and hoping for the best. This is probably one of the last civil ways that we have to try and save our homes," said Santosh Mane who runs a small business at Cotton Green and lives at Wadala, both of which are port trust lands.