Bombay District Development tenants to get 500 sqft flats

Maharashtra Chief Secretary Swadheen Kshatriya said proposal to redevelop BDD chawls could not be cleared as the issue is locked in legal tangle

Maharashtra Chief Secretary Swadheen Kshatriya said that the high-powered committee headed by him, has cleared the redevelopment proposals of the BDD chawls at Naigaon and at N M Joshi Marg in the city.

The administration made this announcement, even as the BJP-led state government was gearing up to announce a decision to this effect as the issue has assumed political significance. There has been a plan to redevelop 207 BDD chawls, which are more than 93 years old.

"The redevelopment proposals of both Naigaon and N M Joshi Marg BDD chawls have been referred to the Chief Minister for his final approval. Once the proposal is cleared redevelopment work shall commence in six months time," he told reporters.

Kshatriya said the proposal to redevelop the BDD chawls at Worli could not be cleared as the issue is locked in a legal tangle.

"After the redevelopment, tenants of the BDD chawls will get flats of 500 sq ft of built up area. The flat will have one master bedroom, one toilet, bathroom, dinning room cum hall," he said.

He said that the saleable area, besides what has been earmarked for the BDD tenants will constitute of 60 per cent for middle income group (MIG) families, 30 per cent for high income group (HIG) and 10 per cent of the stock will be for commercial use.

He said that the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) will be the nodal agency for the redevelopment project.

"Necessary amendments are being made to the Development Control Rules (DC Rule) 33(9) with a new amendment (A) being added to it," he said.

Kshatriya said since the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is the planning authority, the DC Rules will have to be amended first.

He further said that the approval of the Centre's Environment Committee will have to be sought as the redevelopment covers more than 20,000 sq ft.

Kshatriya's announcement comes before the BJP-led government had planned to hold a grand rally in Worli some time later this month to make the same announcement.

Minister for Housing Prakash Mehta had hinted at the possibility of the government announcing the redevelopment of BDD chawls just ahead of the 2017 elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

He had then said that the state government will have to amend the Development Control Rules (DCR) 33(9) to enable four FSI (floor space index) for redevelopment of the BDD chawls and provide the tenants with bigger homes.

However, a section of the BDD chawl residents associations have voiced their opposition to the appointment of MHADA as the nodal agency.

The British had constructed the 207 BDD chawls around 1920 as low-cost housing for mill workers, dock workers, civic and other government employees. The BDD chawls are spread over 93 acres and comprise 207 ground plus 3-storey buildings having 16,557 flats measuring 160 sq ft.