Passengers find it hard to walk across Koparkhairane station, as homeless refuge site there.

The Issue

The train station in Koparkhairane has developed into an unforeseen refuge for the homeless. Homeless individuals prepare their makeshift shelters for the night in the shed designed to make it simple for travelers to stroll across the station every evening. For frequent travelers, who must use the station every day, this is causing anxiety. “I pass this station every day and notice that there aren’t many homeless people in the morning, but the station is full of them in the evening,” a passenger stated. They essentially live in the shed and cook their meals on coal burners.

The reason for the increase in the homeless population has been long distressed commuters. A resident of Sector-4 Koparkhairane, commented, “The large slum next to the Koparkhairane railway station was home to people who had managed to build some sort of shelter to live in.” But the location was designated as a component of a real estate project a few months ago. Although the site had to be sealed by the authorities, the homeless had constructed several shelters there. Thus, it fell to the police to remove every tent and shelter that had been erected there. It crushed my heart to see that situation as a local. These folks had no other choice than to watch as their houses were destroyed.

The living circumstances of the homeless are an additional problem that worries some locals. A local voiced their worries, saying, “Our neighborhood is becoming quite concerned about the large number of homeless individuals near Koparkhairane Station. Seeing individuals without access to basic essentials like food, water, and shelter and living in such appalling conditions is distressing.”

For the people of Taloja, there is now a significant shortage of water. Water is only provided every other day to the entire node, which consists of high-rise structures and townships constructed by CIDCO as well as the forthcoming mass housing projects funded by the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (PMAY). Even if private tankers supply enough water to meet daily needs. Activists attribute the people’ suffering to the government’ unwillingness to confront the problem. “I moved to Taloja two years ago after falling for CIDCO’s grandiose promises of a 24-hour water supply. Since March, we have only had access to water for fifteen minutes each morning and evening, three days in a row, according to Kuldeep Pawar, a tenant of the Marwah Group Apartments.

Little progress has been made despite several complaints filed with Panvel Municipal Corporation and CIDCO. Arvind Mhatre, a resident activist and former corporator, claims the municipal corporation is putting off finding a solution. The previous corporator was able to have a resolution passed in the 2022 General Body to obtain around 1800 MLD of water from the Kundalika river in Roha.

“I had suggested that the city get the excess water from the Kundalika River. The river now discharges about 2800 MLD of water into the sea; however, if the same water were directed toward the city, the problem of water shortage might be resolved for the next 50 years, according to Mhatre.

In activist words, the firm needs to move quickly to implement the 600 cr project as a remedy. The Panvel Municipal Corporation bears the responsibility of ensuring the provision of essential amenities, such as a continuous water supply, since taxes are paid to the corporation. The activist continues, “Officers must regularly check in on the resolution’s progress.

A letter is sent to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde by the All India Majlis-Ittehadul Muslimin (AIMIM) expressing the concerns of the inhabitants over the health and financial risks associated with purchasing water through private tankers. When reached, a PMC representative mentioned that they were trying to figure out how to get the state government to provide funding for their big project. “We are working on the project, and the government has already received our application to reserve the water. According to a municipal official, the city will install about 90 kilometers of pipeline.

NMMC is set to construct a multi storied parking & commercial complex on PPP basis.

The Facility

Under a public-private partnership (PPP) approach, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has chosen to start constructing a commercial complex and a multi-story parking facility on the property that CIDCO has allotted in Belapur and Vashi.

A temporary “No Objection” certificate (Provisional NOC) was recently granted to the Municipal Corporation for the change in land use, subject to CIDCO receiving a quarter of the profits from the commercial use of the designated plot. This decision was made during the Board of Directors meeting of CIDCO. As a result, the way has been cleared for the municipality to build a multi-story parking facility and commercial complex at these two locations under the PPP framework.

CIDCO had set aside 6760 square meters in Belapur Sector-15 to build the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation a public parking lot. In August 2015, plot number 72 was allocated at 25% of the restricted price, or Rs. 1 crore 18 lakhs. In September 2018, plot number 36A, which is situated in Vashi Sector-30A, was allotted at the same rate, totaling Rs. 5 crore 98 lakh 46 thousand.  But the municipality hasn’t been able to build a public parking lot on either of these sites for the last eight or nine years.

Then, in January of last year, the Municipal Commissioner of Navi Mumbai at the time applied to CIDCO for a no-objection certificate to change the land use of both sites in order to enable the building of a commercial complex and a multi-story parking structure.

CIDCO, however, noted that the altered land use was not compliant with the UDCPR, 2020 or CIDCO’s Development Regulations. However, CIDCO had given the Navi Mumbai Transport Corporation permission to use the bus terminal and depot plots that NMMT had been given for business use.

Lastly, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation has been given a provisional no-objection certificate by CIDCO to proceed with the building of the multi-story parking facility and commercial complex. But in exchange for this clearance, CIDCO required that the town get a quarter of the income made from running the multi-story parking structure and commercial complex.

Furthermore, CIDCO made it clear that under no circumstances could the specified plot or any portion of it be transferred to the Municipal Corporation, and that it would not allot any separate site to the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation for the creation of a parking lot in the future.