PPF_housing1_12_PoorColony
BOMBAY'S SQUATTER PROBLEM
Image Caption: Constructed of bits of tin, rags, thatch and other oddments that come to hand, these habitations used by some of Bombay's street dwellers are scarcely fit to house animals.
Sites To Be Chosen For Poor Colony
THE latest solution to Bombay's squatter problem -
the construction of a "Poor
Man's Town" - has been taken
a step. further by the selection
of a site at Mankhurd in Greater Bombay.
An initial outlay of Rs. 75 lakhs
is being made for the colony.
Situated between Sion and Trombay,
it will house about 4,000 families (a
population of roughly 20,000) at
present in unauthorised occupation of
Government, Municipal and Port
Trust lands.
It is realised that the construction
of the colony will not be a complete
answer to the problem of these
ramshackle structures disfiguring
the face of the city. But it is intended
to relieve the situation in
areas where the problem is most
acute and to serve as an experiment.
Acquisition of land for the colony
is estimated to cost Rs. 30 lakhs,
while the provision of sanitary
arrangements and water supply will
require another Rs. 18 lakhs. It is
not proposed to construct complete
houses for the squatters, but plinths
will be raised for the squatters to
build their own tenements. In the
case of those who cannot afford to
buy materials for any kind of structure,
however, financial assistance
will be given.
The Government of Bombay have
asked the Municipal Commissioner
to select suitable sites for other
similar colonies.
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