MUMBAI, Aug. 13 -- The landslide in Kurla on Wednesday has once again raised questions over the effectiveness of measures to protect people living in landslide-prone areas. After the 2014 Malin landslide in Pune district, and again after the 2023 Irshalwadi tragedy, the Maharashtra government had announced a comprehensive action plan to permanently relocate residents living in vulnerable areas. The BMC had also identified 74 vulnerable landslide-prone areas, many of which were in and around areas like Kurla and Ghatkopar. RTI activist Anil Galgali said the Mumbai Slum Improvement Board had, over a decade ago, recommended to the state government that 9,657 of the 22,483 slums in the landslide-prone areas in the city need to be relocated on priority. It had also proposed protecting the remaining slums by constructing retaining walls around the hills. However, there has been no concrete action on the recommendations for years. Officials from the state government said that preventing deaths in landslide-prone urban areas would ultimately require people living in the most vulnerable locations to be relocated, even if they were unwilling. "As people don't want to relocate to other areas, it needs strong political will and a stringent action plan, and its strict implementation," said an official. Vinita Vaid Singal, principal secretary, relief and rehabilitation department, said area-specific action plans were already in place and were being implemented by the respective local authorities. She said the BMC would submit a report on the Kurla incident on Thursday, after which the department would decide on further action. "Relocation is a major challenge as people don't want to shift to other areas. Still, government officials try to convince them to shift to a nearby area. But getting land in a nearby area is a challenge," said Singal. Makarand Jadhav-Patil, minister for relief and rehabilitation, said, "We are going to prepare a new policy for the rehabilitation of people living in the landslide-prone areas and suffered from natural calamities. It would be for the entire state. But as far as areas in Mumbai are concerned, the authority is with BMC."...