Dahisar-Bhayander Elevated Road: ‘We are owners of salt-pan land, not lessees’

The ambitious DahisarBhayander Elevated Road of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC which seeks to increase connectivity between Mumbai and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region MMR and reduce traffic snarls at Dahisar check naka faces a hurdle An umbrella organisation representing salt manufacturers Mith Utpadak Chhote Shilotri Seva Sangh MUCSSS has insisted that they should be compensated as the rightful owners of the saltpan land rather than as lessees or they would consider moving court against the civic body and the state governmentThe alignment of the project is passing through natural areas such as mangroves creek areas and salt pans According to the president of MUCSSS the salt works of shilotris people who manufacture salt were classified as private ones and the salt department maintained a register known as Jamin KhardaTalking to midday Ashok Patil president MUCSSS said ldquoWe arenrsquot objecting to the project It is a development project and should come However we read reports where we were referred to by the government and municipal corporation as lessees not owners These are private salt pans and we are the owners We have a history of over 250 years and we have all the documents Hence the government should compensate us as owners of the landrdquoThe municipal corporation has entrusted the execution of this project to LampT with a budget of R3000 crore and a fouryear timeline for completion Upon project completion the distance between Dahisar West and Bhayandar West can be traversed without encountering any traffic signals reducing travel time to just ten minutes However progress on the project remains stalled until the saltpan landowners receive clarity regarding their compensationThe elevated road will pass through salt works mithagars under the jurisdiction of the Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation The Salt Producersrsquo Association representing approximately 2000 families of shilotris asserts that these salt pans are owned solely by the producers themselvesPatil said ldquoThe land does not belong to the Central government it is our shilotrisrsquo land Also we want the government to compensate us as per the ready reckoner rate meant for industrial land use as in the case of salt work lands acquired in Indapur near the MumbaiGoa highway The rates of agricultural and industrial land are differentrdquo The organisation has sent such a letter to the legal department of the BMC seeking clarification and has also warned that it will file a court case if compensation is not paid as per the law and industrial land use rateStatus of the elevated roadInitial tenders for this project were issued at a value of Rs 1998 crore However the projectrsquos cost has escalated to 3304 crore due to the impact of various taxes and other considerations during the contract awarding process Furthermore in the event of an extended compensation dispute there is a potential for further cost escalation and the projectrsquos timeline is expected to be prolonged ldquoThe land acquisition procedure as per existing legal provisions will be done and appropriate compensation will be paidrdquo said P Velrasu additional municipal commissionerDid You knowThis will be the sixth road connecting Mumbai to MMR between Dahisar West and Bhayander West The five other existing arterial roads are the Western Express highway Dahisar LBS Road Mulund the Eastern Expressway Highway Mulund and Airoli and Vashi bridges that connect Mumbai to Navi Mumbai In Mumbai saltpan plots are spread across Malwani Malad Dahisar Mira Bhayander and Virar in the western suburbs and Ghatkopar Chembur Mandale Turbhe Anik Wadala Kanjurmarg Bhandup Nahur and Mulund in the eastern suburbsAbout the projectOne end of the elevated road is near the Kandarpada Metro Station in Dahisar West and the structure will pass through the picturesque mangrove forests of Dahisar terminating at Subhash Chandra Bose grounds at Uttan in Bhayander West It will be 45 metres wide and be constructed on sturdy stilts It will feature 4x4 lanes to ensure smooth traffic flow Civic officials have revealed plans to designate emergency lanes on both sides facilitating the swift passage of emergency vehicles such as ambulances and fire brigade engines Approximately 15 kilometres of the road will be within the jurisdiction of the BMC while four kilometres will be under that of the Mira Bhayander Municipal Corporation The proposed road will pass through CTS no 207 and 208 in Dahisar and CTS no 532 A via Ganpat Patil Nagar in Dahisar to 534 near village Eksar partly and connected to 27545metrewide Link Road at Dahisar WestRs 3000 crBudget of project