The Maharashtra government has finally approved a long pending proposal to redevelop 100-year-old Bombay Development Directorate (BDD) chawls in south-central Mumbai.
The Maharashtra government has finally approved a long pending proposal to redevelop 100-year-old Bombay Development Directorate (BDD) chawls in south-central Mumbai. There are 207 such chawls in Sewri, Naigaon, N.M. Joshi Marg and Worli, where 16,554 people reside. The announcement was made in the assembly on Friday by housing minister Prakash Mehta.
Mr Mehta said, “The state has appointed Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) as nodal agency for the project. A new set of guidelines under Development Control Rules (DCR) will be formed.” However, the size of the houses is yet to be ascertained.
The government has appointed a committee under the chief secretary to decide on tenement size, floor space index and viability funding for the project. The collector has been appointed as nodal officer for the purpose of deciding eligibility criteria for beneficiaries.
Meanwhile, the original proposal worth Rs 2,000 crore has now escalated to Rs 10,825 crore over the past decade. With 16,554 tenants residing in BDD chawls spread over 93 acre land located in prime areas of Mumbai, this is the second largest cluster development project after Dharavi. The state is expecting to create housing stock of 16,000 units, which will be sold by Mhada via lottery system, said an official.
Just a few days ago, all party legislators Ashish Shelar, Kalidas Kolambkar, Raj Purohit, Atul Bhatkhalkar had raised the issue in the assembly.
They had asked for rehabilitation of tenants at the same place, rehabilitation of residents staying in chawls on land owned by the Union Government and separate authority on the lines of redevelopment of Dharavi. A few hundred families are residing in BDD chawls located at Worli, N.M. Joshi Marg, Sewiand Naigaon. They are hundred years old and in dilapidated conditions.
