First-floor slum dwellers' housing dispute to be heard by Supreme Court on September 29

The question of whether residents living on the first floor of slum rehabilitation buildings in Mumbai are entitled to housing has resurfaced. Former BJP MP Gopal Shetty has filed a petition on the issue in the Supreme Court, which is scheduled to hear the matter on September 29.

The Bombay High Court had earlier refused to direct that these residents be given homes across the board, either free or on payment. Shetty challenged that ruling in the Supreme Court. The petition was heard last week, when the state government presented its case before the court. With the next hearing now fixed for September 29, thousands of residents are watching closely.

The central issue in Shetty's petition is that under the Dharavi redevelopment project, some residents of multi-storeyed slum structures are provided homes on payment or on rent. But under the original Slum Rehabilitation Scheme, the government is not willing to extend the same benefit to first-floor residents. This has raised the question of how two different rules can apply within the same city of Mumbai.

The High Court had earlier clarified that the decision on whether to provide housing to all first-floor residents is a matter of government policy, and that the court should not interfere in it unless it is unconstitutional. However, the question of whether thousands of families will get permanent homes remains unanswered.

Many chawls came up on private plots in Mumbai 30 to 40 years ago. Some residents paid large sums to buy homes there. These chawls were later brought under the Slum Rehabilitation Scheme. But according to the Slum Rehabilitation Authority, the Slum Act has no concrete provision for first-floor residents, so they cannot be given homes either free or on payment. This has created a serious rehabilitation problem for many residents in Mumbai's suburbs.

Gopal Shetty has been pursuing this issue from the start. After the then Maha Vikas Aghadi government denied housing to first-floor residents, he approached the High Court in 2021. However, in 2024 the case was dismissed without any concrete decision. Shetty subsequently wrote several letters to the state government and the relevant authority, asking them to consider the residents' case sympathetically.

An alternative housing proposal with certain conditions had also been put forward earlier. It suggested that the benefit be given to chawls or slums existing up to January 1, 1976, and that eligible residents be given homes as per the criteria of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. There was also an option of providing flats meant for project-affected persons under slum schemes, or homes under other housing schemes. But the state government at the time rejected this proposal. Residents are now watching closely to see what stance the Supreme Court takes on September 29.