Kandivali slum demolished twice, future of 300 residents in limbo

They lost their homes to road-building projects on two occasions, claim they now have proof for rehabilitation

- Sabah Virani

MUMBAI: For more than 300 slum families in Kandivali West, living amid the rubble of their former homes is their only safeguard for the future. After their tenements were torn down to rebuild a service road near the railway tracks in December 2024, the 70-80 families of the Saibaba Rehvasi Seva Sangh slum refuse to move until a decision is taken on whether they are eligible for rehabilitation. If they disperse, they fear losing any chance of being rehoused.

This is not the first time they have found themselves in this predicament. In 2012, the slum was razed, ironically for another road-widening project. While a few families were rehabilitated then, the other residents rebuilt their tenements when they were found ineligible for rehousing.

Wedged between the railway tracks behind a barricade and Pervin Sanghvi Marg, the residents claim they were not given proper notice before their homes were demolished in December 2024. "They didn't even give us enough time to salvage our belongings when the JCB arrived. So we grabbed whatever we could — utensils, clothes, water cans — and keep them close to us," said Hasina Sheikh, a resident.