BDD residents want to self-redevelop

The residents of the erstwhile 93 acres Bombay Development Directorate (BDD) chawls have decided to protest against the state government’s decision to appoint Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) as the nodal agency for the redevelopment. The residents have demanded that they should be allowed to self-redevelop the chawls.

Last week, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had attended a presentation conducted by the housing development department on BDD chawls. The British had developed BDD chawls in the 1920s as a low-cost housing solution for the city. The state has plans to redevelop the chawls under the 33(9), cluster development policy and plans to give Floor Space Index (FSI) of 4.

“We do not trust private developers who will be roped in by the Mhada and state government for redeveloping the chawls. We will request the state government through a letter to give us the permission to self-redevelop the project. We will generate funds for the project by taking loans from private financial institutions and cooperative banks. We are in the process of appointing a private architect and design a redevelopment model of our own,” said Laxman Deshnere, president, BDD chawls redevelopment organisation.

The British had developed BDD chawls in the 1920s as a low-cost housing solution for the city. With 13,500 BDD tenements spread over 93 acres of land located in Worli, NM Joshi Marg, Sewri and Naigaon, it is the second largest cluster development project in the city after Dharavi. Nearly 80,000 people live in 207 BDD chawls, according to government officials. The government has spent Rs 143.53 crore on the repairs of these chawls from 2007 to 2014. Now the government has taken the decision to redevelop these chawls as they are “beyond repairs”.