Residents of Ghatkopar Railway Police Colony Urge Timely Redevelopment

Mumbai: The recent spell of heavy rain in the suburbs has caused significant problems for residents of the Ghatkopar Pant Nagar Railway Police Colony. Water ingress, combined with the poor condition of their old homes, has created a double whammy of fear for the inhabitants of these decades-old structures.

17 of the residential buildings, totaling 980 rooms, are dilapidated. Currently, 450 families live there, while the remainder have left due to safety concerns. Residents have written a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, urging immediate redevelopment of the railway quarters and seeking ownership rights. They do not want to wait, as slums might occupy the vacant property, complicating the redevelopment process.

The buildings are no longer structurally sound. The outer plaster has been fixed, but the interior is in a wrecked state, with busted windows, leaky walls, and crumbling ceilings. 'It is worse during the monsoon,' said one resident. 'Drainage lines choke, waterlogging aggravates, and mosquitoes start breeding, increasing the risk of dengue and malaria.'

Under an incessant downpour, families living on the ground floor have to temporarily vacate their homes due to flooding and unsanitary living conditions.

Built on 35 acres of land allotted by the revenue department to the railway police and Maharashtra Police in 1964, the colony has housed generations of police personnel. However, they have not been granted ownership of their quarters. The colony's first phase, building numbers 1 to 7, was constructed in 1968, providing 464 housing units. A second phase followed in 1984 with building numbers 8 to 24, adding another 980 flats. Each house, measuring around 300 square feet, is part of a ground-plus-four-storey structure originally meant as staff quarters.

Sushil Jangam from the Maharashtra Police Boys' Organisation, whose father served in the Mumbai Railway Police, along with the colony's mahila mandal, has written to Chief Minister Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, asking for ownership rights to be granted to long-time residents. 'We do not wish to be relocated elsewhere. We want redevelopment at the same site so that railway police families can continue to stay here with safety and dignity,' said a representative.

Currently, rent for the quarters is deducted from service wages based on rank. Upon retirement, employees are expected to vacate and return the keys to their quarters. However, several retired personnel and their families continue to stay on, citing a lack of alternative housing options.

Residents also claim the lack of adequate facilities despite decades of rent payment. 'We have served the department for years, but at the end of our service, we are left without a roof over our heads. Ownership rights will give us stability,' said a family member of a retired officer who has been living in the colony for decades.

Requesting anonymity, a senior railway police officer said it is the government that decides on providing flats to the cops and not the railway police department. 'The repair work and other problems have to be approved by the government before coming up with the solution. Those residing in the railway quarters are entitled to stay till the date of their retirement and have to hand over the keys. It is up to the government to decide a solution for the cops,' said the officer.