As monsoon batters Garib Nagar, only 16 families to get rehab homes this week

3 min readMumbaiJul 5, 2026 06:16 PM IST

With heavy rain lashing the city, many families continue to live amid the debris of their demolished homes, patching together broken structures with tarpaulin to keep out the rain (Express photo)

Over a month after nearly 500 homes in Garib Nagar near Bandra East railway station were demolished for the 5th and 6th railway line project, scores of families are battling the monsoon under plastic sheet roofs, with only 16 of around 100 eligible households likely to get rehabilitation flats this week and the rest expected to wait until August.

With heavy rain lashing the city, many families continue to live amid the debris of their demolished homes, patching together broken structures with tarpaulin to keep out the rain. Others have split up, sending children to relatives’ homes while adults stay back to guard what little remains of their belongings.

“There is water coming in from everywhere,” said resident Shekhar Awale. “Some people have stayed because they have nowhere else to go or cannot afford rent. My five year old daughter is with relatives, but my wife and I continue to stay here.”

The rehabilitation process has finally moved forward after the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) approved housing for the 100 eligible beneficiaries identified in a 2021 survey. However, only 16 flats are immediately available.

“Sixteen flats in Building 22 at HDIL Kurla will be allotted through a lottery within a week,” an MMRDA official said. “The remaining families will be shifted to the Bhandary Metallurgy rehabilitation building in Chunabhatti. Since the building is awaiting its Occupation Certificate, it will take about another month before residents can move in.”

The demolition drive in May saw around 500 of nearly 600 structures cleared to make way for railway infrastructure linked to the 5th and 6th rail lines and station works. While around 100 residents were declared eligible for rehabilitation, many have spent the past several weeks living in unsafe conditions as the monsoon intensified.

To make the remaining structures habitable, Western Railway has started repairing homes that were partially damaged during the demolition. Other residents have covered exposed roofs with plastic sheets. Some electricity connections have been restored, while others remain disconnected due to pending dues.

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Basic amenities continue to be makeshift. The BMC is supplying water through tankers and has deployed a mobile toilet, which residents say is grossly inadequate for those still living on the site.

“It is difficult living in these rooms when the rain comes straight in, but people have no option,” said resident Suhail Sayed.

Residents have also questioned whether some names included among the 100 beneficiaries are genuine, but say their immediate concern is surviving the monsoon and securing the rehabilitation homes already promised to them. Another 25 residents who approached the Supreme Court on the day of the demolition are still awaiting a decision on their rehabilitation.

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Sabah Virani is a journalist with The Indian Express’ Mumbai bureau, covering infrastructure, housing and urban issues. In the realms of technical fields, she brings out human stories and the pace of change ongoing in the city.

Expertise

Specialised Role: Tracking infrastructure in Mumbai and the wider Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR), Sabah’s reporting tracks progress on various projects. From bridges to metros, she mixes technical details with resourceful information.

Core coverage areas: Sabah keeps a close eye on the activities of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) and its projects across the MMR, including the metros, road projects, bridges, the bullet train, pod taxi, its role as a planning authority, and more. She also watches for developments from the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) and the GoM’s Urban Development department.

Housing: Sabah also tracks developments in housing, particularly the workings of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA). She also keeps a keen watch on the big redevelopment projects ongoing in Mumbai, including the Dharavi Redevelopment Project, Motilal Nagar, Kamathipura, BDD Chawl redevelopment, among others.

Occasionally, she reports on the environment, biodiversity, waste, arts and culture.

Experience: Prior to working for the Indian Express, Sabah covered the municipality, civic issues and miscellaneous for Hindustan Times. Before that, she covered all things Mumbai for the online publication Citizen Matters. She has also worked as an editorial assistant at FiftyTwo.in.

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