Navi Mumbai: Panvel Municipal Corporation Struggles to Secure Vacant MMRDA Housing for Slum Rehabilitation

Navi Mumbai, 3rd April 2025: Over 10,000 vacant houses built by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) near the Sukapur, Palspe, and Kon villages in Panvel taluka have remained unoccupied for seven years. Despite repeated requests from the Panvel Municipal Corporation (PMC) to use these homes for slum rehabilitation, MMRDA has yet to respond positively, leaving the proposal in limbo.

The PMC has written at least eight letters to MMRDA since October 2018, seeking control of these houses under the authority’s rental housing scheme. The corporation aims to relocate slum residents from Panvel’s 60 slums, which house approximately 45,982 people living in 8,866 huts. However, MMRDA has suggested alternative options, such as using incomplete housing projects within PMC limits or allocating the homes for Mumbai’s mill workers instead. No decision has been made on these suggestions.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, some of these houses were temporarily used as isolation facilities for patients. PMC officials argue that transferring these homes to the corporation would expedite their plan to make Panvel a slum-free city. However, MMRDA’s lack of action has led to the deterioration of these properties, which will now require significant repairs.

Adding to the challenge is CIDCO’s commercial approach to housing development in Panvel. CIDCO is constructing 67,000 houses for low- and middle-income groups but has failed to provide rightful ownership to families living on its land for over three decades. Thousands of CIDCO-built homes remain unsold due to pricing policies that exclude slum dwellers.

Panvel’s slums are spread across various types of land: 20 on CIDCO plots, eight on government land, six on private land, and others on tribal or railway land. While some slum redevelopment projects have received government approval, others remain stuck in bureaucratic delays.

The PMC’s vision of a slum-free Panvel remains unfulfilled as proposals for rehabilitation continue to face hurdles.