Mahul residents finally have a reason to celebrate. After several protests and a legal tussle with the civic body, 206 families — subjected to a life of suffering and ill health caused by the area's high pollution — are set to get homes in Gorai after MHADA released 288 flats. Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray will hand them the allotment letters within the next couple of days.

While the development is a positive step, it is only a partial victory for the residents, whose stir began in 2018. Last year, the MHADA had agreed to give 300 tenements to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to resettle project-affected people (PAP).