Film industry & women
What was happening earlier behind the curtains for years in the cinema world has at last come out into the open with the release of the Hema Committee report (Cover Story, October 4). The delay in its release is incomprehensible. What has come out now is only the tip of the iceberg and is not confined to Kerala. It is time those in the industry took corrective action and control and disciplined themselves instead of waiting for the legislature to pass stringent laws to stop the mistreatment of women.
M.Y. Shariff
Chennai
Congratulations to Frontline for focussing on a topic of contemporary relevance. Much of the credit for bringing to light the issues faced by women actors and their supporting staff goes to the Women in Cinema Collective, which has been waging a lone battle against male dominance in the film industry for several years. The inordinate delay in releasing the report has sparked concerns about potential cover-ups. The Indian film industry in general and the Malayalam industry in particular are in the stranglehold of a few powerful actors and directors.
T.N. Venugopalan
Kochi, Kerala
West Bengal
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is facing the public’s ire for her putative complicity in tacitly shielding the main accused in the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital rape and murder case (“Knee-jerk Bill”, October 4). The Aparajita Bill is an attempt on her part to paper over the ugly episode. There is no dearth of strict laws in the country; the need of the hour is to implement them in earnest. The Chief Minister’s outrage over the incident is just a charade and will not absolve her.
Ravi Mathur
Noida, Uttar Pradesh
THE Aparajita Bill is an attempt to divert public attention from the widespread protests against the rape and murder at the R.G. Kar Hospital. India already has stringent laws in place to punish those who commit sexual crimes; these laws were enacted after the 2012 Nirbhaya case following the recommendations of the Justice J.S. Verma Committee. Instead of having another Bill on the same matter, it is imperative to establish an adequate number of fast-track courts to expedite the trials of the huge number of pending cases on sexual offences in West Bengal. Police personnel need training on how to handle these cases properly.
Since the Bill is silent on the financial involvement of the government for speedy disposal of such cases, the hasty introduction of the Bill has raised questions about its actual purpose.
Bhaskar Sanyal
Serampore, West Bengal
Land grab in Mumbai
IT was painful to read that under the guise of rehabilitating the residents who will be displaced by the redevelopment of Dharavi in Mumbai, several vested interests are engaged in a land grab (“The great Mumbai robbery”, October 4). Construction of flats/houses under the redevelopment must be vertical to make maximum use of the land. Enumeration of existing tenements, long-term residents, and commercial establishments can easily be done using latest technology. Decisions on the number of flats to be constructed, with specific areas for residential and commercial purposes, and for parks and entertainment activities need to be arrived at through strategic planning devoid of political colour to ensure that the project takes off soon and Dharavi gets a fresh lease of life.
R.V. Baskaran
Chennai
Poetry translation
Poetry translation is desecrating generatively, parasitic, mostly futile, and motivated by Milquetoast liberal values; why is it even done? I gleaned these flashy but poorly argued opinions from Prathyush Parasuraman’s article “No risk, no glory” (September 20). He accuses translators of timidity in one paragraph and calls the very act of translation fundamentally foolhardy in another. I am a fan of his columns on cinema; they are witty and give insights which I, as a non-cinema person, do not have access to. However that does not happen in this piece. This column only makes me wonder why anyone would want to critique something they do not understand, respect, or have curiosity about.
Varsha Tiwary
New Delhi
Response
With reference to the story “The great Mumbai robbery” (October 4, 2024), the spokesperson for Dharavi Redevelopment Project Pvt Ltd (DRPPL) has issued the following clarifications.
1. “In its 2018 bid, Seclink offered to redevelop Dharavi with complete rehabilitation of all the tenements on 254 ha.”
DRPPL: The 2018 tender had provision for rehabilitating only ground floor structures up to 2011 and there was no provision for rehabilitation of upper floor tenement holders or post 2011 tenement holders.
2. “The eligible tenements will comprise those mapped in Mashal’s survey, about 81,000 of them, although DRPPL maintains that there are only about 64,000.”
DRPPL: The tender document clearly states eligible tenements as per previous survey are about 64,000. The figures from Mashal’s survey of 2008 are dated and a fresh survey is being undertaken by the government to decide eligibility and ineligibility and everyone will get home as per their entitlement. The eligibility and ineligibility under government scheme will be determined by the State government and not DRPPL.
3. “However, in 2022, the Maharashtra government cancelled the tender citing several factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the changed financial situation, and floated a fresh tender.”
DRPPL: The tender was cancelled in October 2020 by the then MVA government led by Uddhav Thackeray on recommendation of committee of secretaries, which gave its recommendation based on opinion by the State’s Advocate General, primarily because of railway land becoming available.
4. “In its 2018 bid, Seclink offered to redevelop Dharavi with complete rehabilitation of all the tenements on 254 ha. It had a plan to rehabilitate all slum dwellers and commercial establishments on 200 acres, with 100 acres earmarked for gardens; 300 acres were planned to be used for buildings for sale. Seclink offered 350 square feet of housing to all the residents of Dharavi. DRPPL’s plans are in sharp contrast with this.”
DRPPL: The bid never moved beyond Seclink being declared as a preferred bidder. Formalities like giving Letter of Allotment (LoA), forming of SPV with State government, and submission of master plan were never completed. We would like to reiterate once again that, under the 2018 tender conditions, those living on upper or mezzanine floor and those whose tenement came into existence post 1st January 2011 were not to be considered nor given any housing.
5. “Since the project has been deemed a vital public project and since Dharavi is a special pocket under the SRA, the extent of possible saleable area by the Adani Group becomes mind-boggling.... Taking Dharavi’s 1.33 FSI [floor space index] and the 35 per cent for vital public projects into account, each 300 sq ft unit will translate into 538.65 sq ft outside, or a total of 7.86 crore sq ft.”
DRPPL: As with any slum rehabilitation project, developer gets saleable component of FSI for rehabilitation of slum dwellers, and the same principle applies to this project also, as all eligible and ineligible tenements and infrastructure have to be built free of cost by SPV.
6. “It is also being alleged that by showing those living in mezzanine or upper floors as residents, DRPPL may try to get several land pockets in Mumbai and the MMR zone allotted to it in the name of rehabilitation.”
DRPPL: The survey is conducted under the supervision of State government officials from DRP. The current survey is being undertaken in a systematic manner to ensure no one is missed. A drone survey shows full details of existential establishments in most transparent manner. There is no scope for any manipulation at any stage.
7. “...DRPPL is seeking 23 land parcels across Mumbai.”
DRPPL: It is DRP, a State government body, that is seeking land parcels from various government agencies. Ownership of these lands is going to be with DRP and not DRPPL.
8. “Another controversial land allotment happened this month.... The real estate in question is a parcel of 283 acres of salt-pan land. In February, the State Cabinet cleared a proposal to allot the land to DRPPL for Dharavi’s rehabilitation. This was vehemently opposed by environmental activists and members of civil society.”
DRPPL: The Centre allotted only 256 acres of salt-pan land in Mumbai for the project. These land parcels do not fall in the Coastal Regulation Zone [CRZ]. No salt making activity has taken place for many years on these lands and it was allocated by erstwhile government for low-cost housing already. Mumbai’s Development Plan (DCPR 2034) has also earmarked these lands for affordable housing. The plan was approved when a united Shiv Sena was holding power in BMC and was a partner in the State government.
Amey Tirodkar replies
Before writing the story, we sent DRPPL a detailed questionnaire but got no response. In 2018, all slum rehabilitation projects in Maharashtra had provisions to rehabilitate ground floor residents only. The 2018 tender, therefore, would not have included upper floor residents. The story also does not say that Seclink got the LoA, only that it won the bid and had a plan to rehabilitate all tenants. In 2018, this meant ground floor tenants. The story does not say there will be any manipulation of the numbers of tenants. It only says that there are allegations that extending coverage to mezzanine and upper floor residents will mean an increase in land allocation for rehabilitation. The story does not mention the CRZ or say that the land is under salt-making now. It mentions the State government’s role and that the Centre cleared the proposal.
