Kannamwar Nagar redevelopment marred by persistent civic issues, say residents

Kannamwar Nagar in the central suburbsrsquo Vikhroli area has been undergoing redevelopment for the past few years The locality considered as one of the biggest housing colonies in Asia is grappling with a complex web of civic problems that residents say authorities have failed to address for years Locals also mentioned that despite repeated complaints to the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority MHADA Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC and wardlevel officials most grievances go unanswered or receive only temporary fixes that do little to resolve root causesDouble billingWhile the BMC provides most utility services such as water connections the land on which Kannamwar Nagarrsquos buildings stand belongs to MHADA Locals said that after a particular structurersquos redevelopment is completed and the society of that building has received a lsquonoduesrsquo certificate from MHADA the building receives water bills from both the BMC and MHADASuresh Sarnobat a resident of Sai Dham Cooperative Housing Society Ltd said ldquoWe regularly pay the water bill that comes from the BMC which is based on readings of water meters installed by the civic bodyScores of twowheelers are parked on a footpath PICSSATEJ SHINDEHowever we also get water bills from MHADA If we have already received a nodues certificate how and why are we being billed in arrears regarding water and sewage charges from April 2021 till the current billing month The amount mentioned in the bill for October that our building received from MHADA is R3160320 On the other hand we have already paid the full amount that was mentioned on the BMCrsquos bill and have received the payment receipt for the same Why is there no coordination between MHADA and BMC despite us complaining about it multiple timesrdquoWater worriesSuresh Sarnobat resident of Sai Dham Cooperative Housing Society Right Prakash Sonmale resident of Samadhan Cooperative Housing Society PicsBy Special ArrangementResidents also complained about insufficient water supply ldquoBefore redevelopment the area did not even have 10000 homes Now there are approximately 22000 houses Kannamwar Nagar has six water tanks which were constructed in 1968 when the housing society was established Neither has MHADA taken the responsibility to increase the number of these water tanks nor has the BMC How can it be expected that water tanks that were sufficient for 10 houses will suffice for 50 housesrdquo stated Sanjay Mayekar a resident of Rang Rekha buildingLack of facilitiesAs per the 2011 census the population of Kannamwar Nagar is 85000 which by now has definitely increased massively considering the fastpaced redevelopment that is ongoing However the area neither has a vegetable and or fish market nor a civic hospitalFrom left Subhash Bhosale and Sanjay Mayekar residents of Rang Rekha PICSSATEJ SHINDEPrakash Sonmale a resident of Samadhan Cooperative Housing Society said ldquoA few years after the housing colony was constructed a shopping complex was built and some shops were established and given to a few smallscale businessmen However there were norms restricting these businessmen from selling off their galas shops Thus eventually all of them sold off their respective shops at quite high prices and then the buyers began running businesses of their choice rather than catering to the needs of residentsToday we are completely dependent on vegetable hawkers every day And we either have to go to Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar or Sion Hospital or rely on expensive private practitioners when facing health problems After many years of delay a proposed multispeciality hospital has fortunately started taking shape but it still needs at least five years to start and at least seven years to be fully functional For now there is a small gynaecology hospital with OPD run by the civic department but this obviously is not sufficientrdquo The residents have long demanded a BMCrun vegetable and fish market and an Apla Dawakhana but have received no response from the authoritiesTraffic troubleAccording to residents the sheer volume of vehicles being parked on the roads is creating a host of issues ldquoWe had 32 houses before redevelopment Now we have 116 But there is no sufficient parking space which has forced us to park our vehicles on roads causing vehicular traffic to increase We had approached the BMC requesting that a multistorey parking facility be constructed But we havenrsquot received a response yetrdquo said Subhash Bhosale another resident of Rang RekhaRoad conditions are also quite poor in the area and residents allege that the funds are being wrongly used for unnecessary purposes ldquoMLA funds are being used to develop the internal amenities of a few buildings Why canrsquot they be utilised for the betterment of facilities availed of by the general public such as roadsrdquo questioned Vikram Sonawne a resident of Rahul BhavanPowerful stenchSarnobat said ldquoAs much as Rs 26000 crore were sanctioned for a big project to be undertaken just to ensure that the foul smell emanating from the Kanjurmarg dumping ground would vanish Recently a contractor was even fined for the same However the problem persists and has led to multiple health issues Where did the money go This is public moneyrdquoOfficial SpeakHarish Kachuwa junior engineer MHADA said ldquoWe are aware of the doublebilling problem and are working on it Though BMC supplies water its connections and pipes are only to the exterior of each building MHADA pumps water from outside to inside each flat So we charge for maintenance of the pumps and for providing water from outside to inside However the rectifications are in process and those who havenrsquot used water will not be chargedrdquo