India, Aug. 18 -- It's one of the most shunned pieces of residential real estate in Mumbai, so much so that even the Bombay High Court and National Green Tribunal concluded it is unfit for human habitation. Nevertheless, the BMC is rolling out a red carpet for project affected persons (PAP) at its Mahul complex, as a sop to the 3,800 families who live there. The civic administration hopes this is enough to make them stay. In 2019, the court had ordered that 5,400 PAP families be moved out of Mahul, including the 3,800 who continue to live there.

There's just one flaw in the master plan being prepared by the BMC - the raft of civic amenities promised cannot address the primary reason that makes even displaced persons wary of Mahul. These ...