Bandra colony government employees to go on strike from October 2 for ownership houses

Mumbai: A day after Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud laid the foundation stone of the Bombay high court’s new complex near Bandra government colony, the government employees living in staff quarters have warned to go on an indefinite hunger strike from October 2, for their demands of homes on an ownership basis in the redevelopment plan.
In August, chief minister Eknath Shinde held a meeting with a delegation of the Government Quarters Residents’ Association (GQRA), and asked the administration to check if, as a special case, a land parcel could be given to employees in a nearby area or somewhere else in Mumbai and asked the delegation to submit their letter to the administration.
Government colony residents demanded 12 acres of land in the same area for 2,500 flats and were willing to pay ₹350 crore, including the construction cost. But as the state government has not responded to their proposal, government employees have decided to go on indefinite strike from October 2.
Built in 1959, the government colony houses around 5,000 quarters for class 1, 2, 3 and 4 state government employees. As per old records, the colony was spread over 125 acres, but around 35 acres were under encroachment.
“The government has given free homes to the slum dwellers on this land and allocated land for 12 housing societies including IAS and IPS officers. We are not demanding free land; we are ready to pay for it. Still, the government is not making decisions. So, we have decided to start hunger strike from October 2,” Ratna Naik, joint secretary of the Government Quarters Residents’ Association (GQRA), said.