MARGAO
With the sword of Damocles hanging over the beleaguered residents for over four years now, many an inhabitant of migrant-dominated Moti Dongor are looking forward to their rehabilitation on the hillock itself under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana scheme.
Over hundred applications have been received at the Margao Municipal Council from city residents under the PMAY. And a close look at the register indicates residents from Moti Dongor too have submitted their applications for accommodation under the schem
With the sword of Damocles hanging over the beleaguered residents for over four years now, many an inhabitant of migrant-dominated Moti Dongor are looking forward to their rehabilitation on the hillock itself under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana scheme.
Over hundred applications have been received at the Margao Municipal Council from city residents under the PMAY. And a close look at the register indicates residents from Moti Dongor too have submitted their applications for accommodation under the schem
e.
So far, only a few have applied, but the number of applications is expected to go up before curtains come down on the exercise.
The reasoning among the Moti Dongor residents appears is simple. With the appeal filed by the them pending in the High Court and the state government still not coming out with any rehabilitation policy, the residents are applying for the scheme, hoping for a shelter in the event the axe finally falls on their illegal dwellings.
Secondly, aware that the government may encounter obstacles in its bid to acquire land to implement the PMAY in Salcete, the beleaguered residents are hoping against hope that this may force the government to accord legal status for the slum at Moti Dongor.
Says Maulasaab Balabatti, one of the first settlers at Moti Dongor and a petitioner in the High Court: "It's true that some of the residents from Moti Dongor have applied for houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana. Many more may apply under the scheme as it promises to afford housing for the people living in slums."
Maulasaab says the beleaguered residents can be rehabilitated at the same place under the PMAY scheme as acquiring land in Margao in particular and Salcete in general has become a difficult proposition. "Moti Dongor was first declared a slum way back in 1984. Even the adjoining land housing many structures was declared a slum. The centre can very well accommodate us at Moti Dongor itself under the PMAY scheme," he said.
Maulasaab along with other residents of Moti Dongor had knocked the doors of the High Court after the then Administrator of Comunidade South Zone, Sangeeta Naik, on August 5, 2013, ordered the demolition of the illegal structures and to restore the land to its original condition.
Since then, around 210 residents, the petitioners in the case, besides 20-30 others, and not to mention the 100-odd residents staying in the adjoining private property, have been constantly living under the fear of the axe falling on their structures.
So far, only a few have applied, but the number of applications is expected to go up before curtains come down on the exercise.
The reasoning among the Moti Dongor residents appears is simple. With the appeal filed by the them pending in the High Court and the state government still not coming out with any rehabilitation policy, the residents are applying for the scheme, hoping for a shelter in the event the axe finally falls on their illegal dwellings.
Secondly, aware that the government may encounter obstacles in its bid to acquire land to implement the PMAY in Salcete, the beleaguered residents are hoping against hope that this may force the government to accord legal status for the slum at Moti Dongor.
Says Maulasaab Balabatti, one of the first settlers at Moti Dongor and a petitioner in the High Court: "It's true that some of the residents from Moti Dongor have applied for houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana. Many more may apply under the scheme as it promises to afford housing for the people living in slums."
Maulasaab says the beleaguered residents can be rehabilitated at the same place under the PMAY scheme as acquiring land in Margao in particular and Salcete in general has become a difficult proposition. "Moti Dongor was first declared a slum way back in 1984. Even the adjoining land housing many structures was declared a slum. The centre can very well accommodate us at Moti Dongor itself under the PMAY scheme," he said.
Maulasaab along with other residents of Moti Dongor had knocked the doors of the High Court after the then Administrator of Comunidade South Zone, Sangeeta Naik, on August 5, 2013, ordered the demolition of the illegal structures and to restore the land to its original condition.
Since then, around 210 residents, the petitioners in the case, besides 20-30 others, and not to mention the 100-odd residents staying in the adjoining private property, have been constantly living under the fear of the axe falling on their structures.
