The National Alliance of People’s Movement (NAPM) who is spearheading the fight for clean air, water and safe rehabilitation of victims of Mahul, has sought the intervention of the newly formed Maharashtra government led by CM Uddhav Thackeray to help the residents relocate from the ‘gas chamber’ of Mahul to a safer space.

The residents of Mahul have been fighting a losing battle for their lives ever since they were removed from their houses and shifted to their current residence surrounded by refineries and chemical industries. They were only to be ‘temporary’ inhabitants, but it has been more than 7 years that they have been living in the toxic hell.

Most of the residents, right from children to the elders, have been facing health complications ever since they have moved to this extremely toxic area. The unclean water and polluted air has led to severe skin complications, respiratory problems, stomach and throat infections, hair loss and even cancer.

There have been multiple studies on the air in Mahul and a survey of the diseases that affect the victims there. Studies by IIT Bombay and KEM hospital have shown that the air is polluted by carcinogenic chemicals. The victims are also not did not get any compensation by the BJP government for their state-sponsored illnesses.

It is shameful to even talk about the fact that even when the Supreme Court asked the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to compensate these victims and pay them money for relocation, the BMC is passing the buck to the refineries who it says is the real culprit for their pitiable circumstance, and it is the refineries who must pay for their rehabilitation.

Today, at the appeal of NAPM, the GharBachaoGharBanaoAndolan and other human rights groups, help is pouring in from all quarters and doctors have voluntarily signed up to help the residents. A team of general physicians, gynecologists, dermatologists, palliative care experts and pediatricians have come forward to help the people of Mahul who had been left to rot to death only because the then BJP government did not think them as humans for them being from an economically backward background.

The medical camps have been a boon to the people of Mahul who cannot afford expensive treatment at hospitals. But even, then they are just like a bandaid on a gaping wound. What the residents of Mahul need is permanent rehabilitation. NAPM and GBGBA think that the Shiv Sena government will do right by these residents after having taken up the causes of the Aarey Forest.

On the intervention of YUVA Sena leader Aditya Thackeray, 300 new houses were reserved for Mahul residents by MHADA but MCGM held the allotment of these houses by citing technical glitches in the announcement. Now that the new government took a bold decision to stop cutting of Aarey forest which was campaigned around as an issue of pollution, the real victims of pollution in Mahul are waiting for their turn to get justice, writes NAPM.

We stand with the people of Mahul in their fight for their fundamental right to safe and habitable living and a clean environment. Though we are hopeful of positive actions by the new Maharashtra government, change may take some time. Till then, we implore you, the citizens of India, to contribute to the wellness of Mahul residents by donating for medicines that will help alleviate their pain.

Please donate to the cause here.

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M’traGovt must give alternate Accommodation & Rent to Mahul Project Affected: Bombay HC
Victory for Mahul residents: SC disposes of BMC’s petition, directs payment of rent
Setback for Mahul residents as SC stays order against Maharashtra govt
Bombay HC directs Fadnavisgovt to pay Rs. 15,000 rent to Mahul residents
MHADA confirms 300 houses for Mahul residents, CM Fadnavis still mum
Mumbai Police Detains Hundreds of Mahul Residents Fighting for Right to Life

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While the BJP and the Maha Vikas Aghadi were performing political acrobatics in Maharashtra, doctors were helping people of Mahul, often dubbed a ‘gas chamber’, fight for their lives.

The Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan (GBGBA) which has been fighting tooth and nail to get justice for the victims in Mahul, organized a medical camp there on November 17, 2019, where doctors voluntarily joined in to treat patients who are suffering from life-threatening diseases like asthma, heart and lung problems, skin infections and cancer. These victims of the ignorant government have been left to fend for themselves – whether it be housing, food, water or medicines.

The Mahul issue

Mahul, not very fondly referred to as a ‘toxic hell’ and a ‘gas chamber’ by its residents, is a small fishing village in the Trombay area.

Not by choice, the residents who were once to be only temporary inhabitants in the area, have now been left to become permanent residents and rot to death.

After the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) razed homes along the Tansa water pipeline, it has sent over 5,500 economically backward families from allegedly ‘illegal’ settlements in Ghatkopar, Chembur, Powai, Vakola and Bandra (East), to slowly perish in Mahul.

Their homes were razed for urban infrastructure projects worth crores and they were sent to a heavily industrialized area with refineries and chemical factories belonging to companies like Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum, Sea Lord Containers, Aegis Logistics, Tata Power and Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers (RCF).

Reports by the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, National Green Tribunal, Comptroller and Auditor General and KEM Hospital have all come to the same conclusion. Mahul is uninhabitable.

Reports have found the presence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like benzene, styrene and toluene among others. These VOCs are mainly known to attack the central nervous system, causing irritation in the eyes, nose and throat.

The levels of toluene diisocyanate, released by the Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum, have been found to be the highest – 0.169 parts per million, way higher than the permissible levels of 0.21 ppm. Toluene is notorious for affecting the kidney, liver and impairing the immune system, The Indian Express reported.

The report by KEM hospital found that 67.1 per cent of Mahul’s population suffered from breathlessness, 86.6 per cent had eye irritation, and 84.5 per cent felt a choking sensation. The NGT report has clearly stated that there is a perceptible threat to the health of residents in Mahul.

The latest report by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) has recommended that Mahul be declared an ‘Air Control Region’, with no residential premises allowed in the vicinity of the factories.

Housed at the Eversmile Project Affected Person (PAP) colony, the residents challenged their allotments after they started suffering from tuberculosis, respiratory infections, skin infections and other health issues due to carcinogenic air pollution. Mahul victims are rapidly losing hair and the corrosive water and air is acting on their skin with dark patches that constantly itch.

The water that comes through a pipeline that runs parallel to a sewage pipeline. Residents complain that the water consumption causes stomach and throat infections. They are cut-off from basic facilities – schools, railway stations and hospitals.

The course of their struggle for justice has seen over 256 deaths.

No compensation

Just when you’d think that things couldn’t get any worse for Mahul residents, India’s richest civic body, the BMC in October this year, filed a second petition in the Supreme Court, challenging an order by the Bombay HC over the rehabilitation of over 30,000 Mahul residents, Times Now reported.

In September this year, the Bombay HC had ordered the BMC to pay a compensation of Rs. 15,000 as rent to residents or provide them alternate accommodation. The BMC states a report by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) which states that the pollution levels have going down in recent years. However, this report contradicts the ones by the NGT and KEM hospital that say the residents must be shifted out immediately.

It told the SC that the rent mentioned to be given to the affected residents would put a burden of Rs. 3,000 crore on the exchequer. It is complaining that the directive of the SC is letting the actual polluters, the refineries and industries go scot free, the Mumbai Mirror reported.

Bilal Khan who is leading the movement to get justice for Mahul’s residents, said that the BMC is misleading the court by putting out such a huge expense statement. He told the Mumbai Mirror that the BMC has fixed deposits of Rs. 61,000 crore and gets Rs. 4,000 crore as annual interest on them, going on to add, “It is ready to spend Rs. 3,000 crore on a statue, but not to save the lives of citizens.”

Our appeal

We have and always will stand by the victims of Mahul who have been shortchanged only because of their economic backgrounds. With average family incomes of Rs. 15,000 – Rs. 20,000 per month and even lesser, it has become extremely difficult for the residents to cope up with mounting health expenses. It is worrying that residents of the Eversmile colony continue to live in unbearably sorrowful circumstances, even when the apex court has ordered for their relief.

Even then, the government is shirking responsibility for its citizens, passing over the blame to only save a little more money for itself.

Fortunately, a few residents have come together to help the Mahul victims. Free medical camps are being held every Sunday in the area and medical equipment too is being mobilized. Even then, they are falling short of life-saving medication and it is our sincere appeal to our readers to generous contribute towards the cause of saving the lives of the innocent victims of the society.

Please donate to the cause here.

Related:

M’tra Govt must give alternate Accommodation & Rent to Mahul Project Affected: Bombay HC
Victory for Mahul residents: SC disposes of BMC’s petition, directs payment of rent
Setback for Mahul residents as SC stays order against Maharashtra govt
Bombay HC directs Fadnavis govt to pay Rs. 15,000 rent to Mahul residents
MHADA confirms 300 houses for Mahul residents, CM Fadnavis still mum
Mumbai Police Detains Hundreds of Mahul Residents Fighting for Right to Life

The post Mahul needs you appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The Bombay High Court, on Monday, directed the Maharashtra government to find alternative accommodation for Project Affected Persons (PAP) residing in Mahul within 12 weeks. Until that happens, the court ordered that the residents be paid Rs. 15,000 as monthly transit rent along with a deposit of Rs. 45,000 as a security deposit.

This judgement comes after a long battle by Mahul residents for their right to clean and safe air. The court noted that the level of air pollution in Mahul was ‘alarming’ and the residents were breathing in air filled with carcinogens (cancer causing substances).

The verdict stated by Division bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Bharati Dangre held that no family be rehabilitated to Mahul or Ambapada PAP colonies due to slum clearance and current residents of these colonies be rehabilitated elsewhere.

Case Background
In the past few decades, Mahul witnessed growth by becoming home to 9 major industrial units like the Tata Power Thermal Plant, Aegis Logistics, Sealord Containers, along with refineries of the HPCL, BPCL and Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilizers among others. But this, also made Mahul one of the worst polluted parts of the city.

The Eversmile PAP colony is separated by a 15 metre road from the BPCL refinery, is within 300 metre radius of Sealord Containers – a logistics company serving oil and gas industries by providing containers and storage terminals for hazardous chemicals; on its southern end is the Tata Power Thermal Energy Plant and in close proximity to BARC, the largest nuclear reactor in the country bearing weapons-grade plutonium for India’s nuclear weapons program.

The approximate 17,205 residents from 72 buildings of the Eversmile PAP colony challenged the allotments of these tenements when they started suffering from respiratory infections, skin infections and other health issues due to carcinogenic air pollution.

Around 256 people have already lost their lives over the course of this battle. The fight for the rights of the residents of Mahul took steam when in 2015, the NGT passed an order that said, ““…there is a perceptible threat to health of residents of village Mahul and Ambapada due to prevailing air quality in the area”.

Judgement
The court heard three petitions – one filed by a group of PAP who had been offered accommodation at the Eversmile Colony, second by a group of residents already living at Eversmile and a third by the state government, challenging a 2015 order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that had issued directions regarding the PAP Colony.

Petitioners from the Eversmile Colony spoke of three issues that render the Colony uninhabitable. The first being the close proximity to the refineries that expose them to high levels of carcinogens, the second; a threat to the security of industries and refineries for being in the vicinity of residential premises and the safety of the residents lives itself; and the third and most appalling being the fact that the Colony is devoid of hygienic conditions and basic facilities like schools and medical centres.

The state government opposed this plea arguing that the NGT should not have generalized living conditions that prevailed at that certain period and stressed that the situation had improved.

The HC, however, taking into account the reports from the state pollution boards, the National Environment Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) and IIT Bombay, refused to believe in the state’s claim.

The judges noted, for example, the presence of a high quantity of harmful organic compounds like Benzene. While the permissible limit of Benzene according to air quality standards is a maximum of 5 microgram / cubic metre, the IIT-B report revealed a marked presence of Benzene in the range of 11.4 micrograms per cubic metre to 1039.7 micrograms per cubic metre. The bench took this as proof to be the deterioration of ambient air quality at the site.

The judges also took note of a report by the KEM Hospital, which elaborately stated that the health issues of the PAP were brought on by acute air pollution in the area.

On March 5, 2019 the Supreme Court upheld the NGT’s judgement which was earlier challenged by the State in 2018. Taking into account the reports from three government agencies, the SC said that the NGT’s judgement was beyond the purview of being challenged.

Verdict
Citing a judgement of the Bombay HC in Oswal Agro Mills Ltd. Vs. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. & ors, the bench ruled that no family in rehabilitation as a result of slum clearance would be shifted to the PAP colonies in Mahul and Ambapada and those rehabilitated would be offered accommodation elsewhere, up until then for which they are to be paid transit rent and a security deposit.

Also citing the Article 11 (1) of the International Covenant on economy, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) which states – “Right to an adequate standard of living including basic income, food, housing, water, sanitation and clothing and the continuous improvement of living conditions”, the court said, “The state parties will take appropriate steps to ensure realization of this, recognizing to this effect the essential importance of international cooperation based on free content.”

Speaking of the verdict, Bilal Khan, an activist from the NGO Ghar Banao Ghar Bachao Andolan which has tirelessly fighting for the rights of these Mahul residents said, ““We are all extremely happy and prepared that the BMC will go to the SC but this time, the government will have to act. We are going start filing applications seeking to move out from tomorrow itself.”

The court has granted the State a period of 12 weeks to comply with the given directions.

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In a significant victory for Mahul residents in Mumbai, the Supreme Court on Monday disposed of Mumbai Municipal Corporation’s Special Leave Petition (SLP) challenging the Bombay High Court’s order directing payment of rent to those displaced.
 
The HC order had directed the Maharashtra government to pay Rs. 15000 rent to Mahul residents so as to enable them to move out of Mahul. The toxic environment in Mahul has been declared unfit for human habitation by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) in 2015 and in April, 2019 by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).
 
In April 2019, the Bombay HC said that those unwilling to stay at the Mahul SRA rehabilitation colony shall be compensated as follows: they shall be paid Rs. 15,000 per month for twelve months along with a one-time payment of Rs. 45,000, these amounts intended to cover the cost of rent and security deposit respectively. The HC had directed the Corporation to transfer the entire amount at one go to the families that would be evicted and had asked the state government to conduct a survey to find out which families want to leave the Mahul SRA. However, according to activists, the BMC and state government didn’t attempt to begin the court ordered survey for compensation, and instead, moved the SC for a stay on the operation of the High Court order.
 
Slum dwellers filed an intervention petition in May in the very SLP that challenged the HC order in SC. According to media reports, the Corporation was forcing these slum dwellers to go back to Mahul. On hearing the matter, the SC directed the slum dwellers to vacate their houses, “It is directed that before demolishing the slums units of the petitioners, they must be intimated of the alternative accommodation offered under the Scheme. After such intimation, the concerned persons may occupy the units offered. However, if they do not accept the offer, it will be open for the Corporation to demolish the existing huts. If it is found that any of these persons is not eligible to get the alternative accommodation as per the Scheme, the appropriate authority will communicate the same to such persons, and it will be open for such an aggrieved person to approach the Deputy Commissioner (Zone-II) by way of an appeal, as mentioned in the Public Notice, and follow the necessary procedure as mentioned in the Notice.”
 
The SC disposed of Corporation’s SLP on Monday, for a second time, when the Corporation approached SC to restore their petition. SC made it clear that there were no grounds to give any clarification for the second time. It said, “No further clarification in order is required as the order is clear. In terms of the directions issued in the order, thepetitions have been disposed of.”
 
Reacting to this, the people’s organisation on Housing rights, Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao (GBGB), engaged in the Mahul struggle since long said, “As of today, the order of the Mumbai High Court stands unchallenged. Now the government cannot force anyone to go to Mahul. It is the victory of the perseverant struggle led by the residents of Mahul who continue to sit of dharna till today since October 2018. The struggle will continue until everyone living in Mahul gets safe and clean housing.”
 
 
 

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday stayed the Bombay High Court order directing BMC and the Maharashtra government to pay reparations to Mahul residents.

India’s richest civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had decided to move the Supreme Court of India against the order. Newly-appointed BMC commissioner Praveen Pardeshi had confirmed earlier that the civic body would approach the apex court against the order.
 
After more than a year of struggle by the people of Mahul demanding relocation, the government had lost the case in Bombay HC in April when the court directed the govt to pay rent of Rs. 15000 to Mahul residents and other project affected persons (PAPs).
 
The Court had directed the govt to pay a monthly rent of Rs. 15000 and a deposit of Rs. 45000 as long as the finding of NGT regarding pollution remain intact.
 
Mahul was declared unfit for Human habitation by NGT in 2015 as well as IIT, Bombay this year, in spite of this, the Government of Maharashtra was adamant to not move people out of Mahul. Now, the Court order is binding on the govt.
 
“Municipal corporation has been directed to take consent of the people whoever wants to opt for rent and submit the estimated amount to the state government so that the govt can release the fund to the corporation which in turn will deposit the yearly amount to the bank account of Mahul residents and other PAPs. After receiving the amount, Mahul residents will have to vacate their houses within one month and acquire a house on rent elsewhere,” National Alliance of People’s Movements had said in a statement.
 

The post Setback for Mahul residents as SC stays order against Maharashtra govt appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
Mumbai: After more than a year of struggle by the people of Mahul demanding relocation, Govt lost the case in High Court when the Court directed the govt to pay rent of Rs. 15000 to Mahul residents and other project affected persons (PAPs).
 
Mahul was declared unfit for Human habitation by NGT in 2015 as well as IIT, Bombay this year, in spite of this, the Government of Maharashtra was adamant to not move people out of Mahul. Now, the Court order is binding on the govt.
 
The Court has directed the Govt to pay a monthly rent of Rs. 15000 and a deposit of Rs. 45000 as long as the finding of NGT regarding pollution remain intact.
 
“Municipal corporation has been directed to take consent of the people whoever wants to opt for rent and submit the estimated amount to the state government so that the govt can release the fund to the corporation which in turn will deposit the yearly amount to the bank account of Mahul residents and other PAPs. After receiving the amount, Mahul residents will have to vacate their houses within one month and acquire a house on rent elsewhere,” National Alliance of People’s Movements said in a statement.
 
“On one hand people’s perseverant struggles has been victorious while on the other hand the anti-people face of BJP govt in Maharashtra stands exposed. Today is the 158th day of the dharna being staged by Mahul residents and it will continue until people get money in their account so that they can acquire alternative housing,” NAPM said.
 

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Mumbai: National Alliance of People’s Movement (NAPM) and Mahul residents have claimed that MHADA president Mr. Uday Samant confirmed a housing deal for the Mahul residents. They said that he confirmed on a telephonic conversation yesterday that MHADA has sanctioned the proposal to allot 300 houses to Mahul residents. “He has invited us to discuss the procedure of allotment which will also entail more details. The allotment of houses by MHADA also disapproves Maharashtra governments stand in the Court about non-availability of alternative houses,” they said in a statement.
 
On August 8, the Bombay High Court directed the Maharashtra Government to provide alternative housing to the residents of Mahul whose lives are threatened due to the toxic atmosphere in that area.
 
“Instead of coming up with solutions, the Maharashtra Government shamefully submitted in the Court that there are no houses available which can be allotted to Mahul residents. Agitated by this stand of the Government, the residents of Mahul have been staging an indefinite dharna since October 28. On the third day of the protest, the Shive Sena party intervened and held a meeting with MHADA. The president of MHADA is an MLA of Shiv Sena. Since the party is sensitive about the issue which involves the lives of 30,000 residents, they decided to handover as many houses as possible to the residents of Mahul. MHADA presidents decided to allot 300 houses in the first meeting itself. While two other major housing agencies such as the MMRDA and SRA, which are under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis have still not found time to take a decision that affects the lives of thousands of residents. They have instead filed false affidavits in the Court,” they said.
 
The level of toxicity in Mahul is so high that it is claiming lives on a daily basis. The day before yesterday, two people died. One due to cancer and the other due to a heart attack. They were healthy before they were forcefully shifted in Mahul last year. So far, more than 150 people have been killed since 2015 in Mahul. 
 
On the other hand, the Bombay High Court, in its order based on hearing on December 13, 2018, rapped the Government for its failure to implement the Court’s order. On August 8, 2018, the Court directed the Maharashtra government to provide alternative housing to Mahul residents. The Court was allegedly seething with anger after reading the fact-finding report by IIT Bombay with regards to the infrastructure facility, health, multiple hazardous risks, pollution and other dangerous situations in Mahul. The Court said that the report by IIT Bombay confirmed the complaints by Mahul residents that they had been making since more than a year.
 
The protest ‘Ghar Bachao Ghar Banao Andolan’ has entered it 55^th day today. Residents of Mahul are demanding a meeting with Chief Minister to resolve this issue. “So far, the state chief doesn’t care to hear the plight of the residents who are facing life and death situations. It’s high time that the Chief Minister took quick action to save thousands of lives. Until then the dharna of Mahul residents will continue in Azad Maidan. The police are continuously harassing the peaceful protestors in Azad Maidan. Protestors are forced to move out of Maidan every night and forced to sleep without any shelter in the cold at CST station,” they said.
 

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