Bombay HC asks MHADA to give info on tenements given to mill workers

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday asked the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) to inform how much textile mill land had been given to it for real estate development in the city and the number of tenements allotted by it to mill workers so far.

As a large number of textile mills in Mumbai have become defunct in the past two decades, the land available to them is being considered for development. These lands are valued at a high price because of their prime location, says a petition.

A bench headed by Justice Abhay Oka also asked the state government to inform about the rehabilitation scheme it proposes to introduce for workers of the defunct textile mills.

The court observed that the government and the MHADA were not disclosing details about the textile mill lands as well as their plans for housing former mill workers, who were rendered jobless after the factories closed down.

The bench warned that if details were not furnished by the authorities, they would be forced to appoint an IAS officer to coordinate with various agencies and furnish details about the mill lands to the court.

The bench directed MHADA to file an affidavit within a week furnishing details about the mill lands.

The petition was filed by Girni Kamgar Sanghatana, which sought rehabilitation of workers, saying they had lost their jobs after the mills became defunct.

The matter has been posted for hearing on June 28.