MUMBAI, 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 are the massive health risks posed by the toxic air and water in Mahul, a major industrial region near Chembur in Mumbai. The Mahul township is surrounded by major oil refineries, chemical plants, fertilizer units and chemical storage terminals. Built between 2006 and 2009, and expanded later, the complex comprises 72 buildings which include 17,205 tenements, to accommodate PAPs, defined as families displaced by infrastructure and other projects across Mumbai. Currently, only 53 buildings are occupied, with 3,800 residents living in them. The BMC's master plan comes seven years after the high court ruled in favour of PAPs displaced by a court-ordered eviction of 1,600 families living along the Tansa water pipeline in Kurla. The PAPs had argued that the toxic air and water posed serious health risks and, in September 2019, the court ruled in their favour. As a result, 1,600 families of a total 5,400 were shifted to alternative PAP housing in Kurla. The BMC's master plan is aimed at the remaining 3,800 families - regardless of toxic pollution levels and potentially serious health risks. A senior civic official said the master plan will address scattered occupancy across buildings, vacant flats, building repairs, security issues, waste management, drainage and the delayed formation of cooperative housing societies. The plan was drawn up after an inspection of the Mahul complex by members of the BMC standing committee on May 6. On July 4, the BMC presented the master plan to the standing committee, who has asked the local civic ward to revert with revisions. One of the key plan's components is to rationalise occupancy - 33 buildings have more than half their flats vacant, while 20 have less than half vacant. Families from the 33 buildings will be moved into the 20 buildings. "We will concentrate better amenities and maintenance services in these 20 buildings, which will become the primary residential blocks within the complex," said Shankar Bhosale, assistant municipal commissioner, M-West Ward. He said the BMC would complete the formation of housing societies for the 20 occupied buildings by December. The BMC will also hasten the registration of housing societies at the complex. A consultant will be appointed and a community development officer will help residents with the formalities. One-time repairs will be made as a prerequisite to handing over buildings to housing societies. The list of buildings where the society formation process has commenced will be forwarded to the chief engineer, building maintenance, who will initiate the tendering process. A local mini-ward office has been proposed in the township, to help residents address civic grievances. Security will also be enhanced. At present, 28 security guards are deployed for 48 buildings, working in two shifts. The BMC will urge the police department to establish a police beat office under the RCF police station in its Mahul complex. The BMC's master plan proposes a fresh assessment of air quality and plans to submit it to the Supreme Court, where the case is pending. For residents living in the township's dismal conditions, any improvement in amenities is welcome. Purshottam Chavan, 32, a cobbler, has lived in Mahul for 14 years after being displaced from a slum on the Tansa pipeline in Kurla. He is one of those who stayed back, while the others shifted. Chavan says his 225-sq-ft unit in Mahul is an improvement over his earlier living conditions. "I now live in a cooperative housing society. I feel safer and more secure in this complex," he said. My monthly maintenance is just Rs.350." Mohammed Hussain, 27, of Bharat Society, is also a PAP from Kurla. "We have been here for a year. Living here is convenient for me as I run a real-estate business. There is a school here and we have been told a hospital is under construction," he said....