MUMBAI, July 8 -- Sixty four slum residents from Shankar Lane, Malad, received keys to their new homes in Slum Rehabilitation Authority's (SRA) permanent transit camp (PTC) in Sairaj Guriyapada building, located at a 10-minute drive from their original addresses, on Monday, to pave the way for the first two phases of the extension of Shankar Lane to the Gautam Buddh Marg, leading to the New Link Road. This stretch measures 150 meters. It is for the first time that project affected people (PAPs) have been relocated in PTC homes, given the shortage of space for their relocation. In February, the first lot of 110 residents were relocated to PTC homes in the same building. The idea for this mode of transfer was conceived in August 2024 through a Maharashtra government resolution (GR) which allowed the conversion of 50% of PTC homes, meant to accommodate residents whose homes are under SRA schemes for a rent, into PAP homes, meant for permanent housing. A senior official from SRA told HT: "The need for PTC homes is not big, while there is a shortage of homes for PAPs. Malad is the first place where such a conversion has been done; other areas will follow." A month after the GR was published, MP Piyush Goyal, who handed over the keys to the residents on Monday, wrote to SRA seeking quick conversion of 266 PTC homes in Malad, to hasten the road work. "In the extension of Shankar Lane to the New Link Road is a missing 550-meter link, which when constructed, will offer additional access from Malvani, Jankalyan Nagar, Lalji Pada to and from the western express highway (WEH)," said Bhagyashree Kapse, deputy municipal commissioner, of Zone-4 of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). "We hope that in the future this will help ease traffic on Marve Road and the Malad subway. With the second lot of relocation on Monday, phase 2 for the road's clearance has been achieved; we will soon begin phase 3." The total affected structures in the missing link were 357, of which 293 are residential and 53 commercial. 110 structures have already been demolished. Now, 64 structures, whose residents acquired the keys to their new homes on Monday, will be demolished. Residents of 183 structures remain to be rehabilitated, for phase 3 to commence. An official from the BMC's P-North ward explained that around 181 of the PTC homes in the ward have been converted to PAP homes, and that the process to begin rehousing residents has been on since six months. "Phase 3 will now take a few months, as the road's alignment has to be tweaked a few meters away from the Valnai metro station on New Link Road. Rehabilitation of the residents will begin after that," said an official from P-North ward. "We are happy to get pucca homes of 300 square feet and some stability," said 50-year-old Mary Shetty. "However, living in a chawl (which has been taken over to facilitate the road work) was better. Now, although we are in the same building we are scattered."...