MUMBAI: Nobody wants to rent out their homes to MLAs, and this has put the project to reconstruct the dilapidated Manora hostel in jeopardy. The hostel in
Nariman Point
is in a very dangerous condition and the state government has decided to demolish it. Legislators have already been told to vacate the building after a ceiling in one of the rooms collapsed last month. However, there is a problem.
Principal Secretary Anant Kalse of the state legislature said, “We had given an ad in many newspapers for 175 flats in south and central Mumbai for MLAs. But there is no response. We have already given notices to the legislators to vacate.“
Another officer said that the state legislature wanted 175 flats in areas upto Dadar and it is very difficult to get one BHK flats, measuring 450 to 500 sq feet, in those areas. Moreover, people are wary of giving their flats on lease to the government.
The reconstruction of the hostel com plex was in the works for a while due to its shoddy quality but it became imperative after a ceiling in the room allotted to
MLA Satish Patil collapsed in the first week of August. The
Vidhan Bhavan
secretariat immediately decided to give notices to the legislators to vacate. Notices have also been issued asking people to avoid parking in the complex.
The MLA hostel complex has four towers, with a total of 336 flats. The first two wings were inaugurated in 1994 by then chief minister Sharad Pawar. The other two were opened by Manohar Joshi when he became CM in 1995. Ever since, there have been concerns about the quality of the work. Last year, the state Lokayukta, Justice ML Tahaliyani, who is conducting an inquiry into the issue, had rapped the state Public Works Department to explain the shoddy construction.
According to the new plan, the present structure will be demolished and a new one, housing 1,000 rooms, will be constructed at a cost of Rs 600 crore. The new hostel complex will be constructed in consultation with
National Building Construction Company
. There will be six floors just for parking.
The legislative assembly has 288 members and the legislative council has 180. In all, the state has four hostels for legislators-Manora, Akashwani, Majestic and Old MLAs lodgings. Majestic is undergoing renovations.