Aaditya raises BDD chawl redevelopment issue with MHADA chief

Yuva Sena chief Aaditya Thackeray on Friday met MHADA chairman Uday Samant with some city MLAs and raised a range of issues pertaining to redevelopment of BDD chawls in Worli and Sewri, and housing policy.

Thackeray led a delegation of Shiv Sena MLAs to the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority's (MHADA) office in suburban Bandra amid talks of him contesting the forthcoming Maharashtra Assembly polls from Worli.

During the meeting, Thackeray noted the state government has decided that the residences in the BDD chawls (old multi-storeyed row tenements) will be maintenance charge-free for the dwellers.

He called for giving corpus fund in the name of each of the chawl dwellers after 10 years of its redevelopment.

The chief of Shiv Sena's youth wing also demanded giving additional FSI (floor space index) to those holding commercial units in the chawls.

FSI is the ratio of a buildings total floor area to the area of the plot.

Noting that policemen living in BDD chawls get ownership of residences after 30 years of their service, Thackeray said the span should be reduced to benefit more security personnel.

The Yuva Sena chief said owners of the residences sold and purchased after 1995 were getting notices from the Anti- Corruption Bureau scaring them and asked the government to intervene in the matter.

Among other, he also demanded approving the existing temples and religious places in the chawls.

"Samant has assured me the issues will be taken up during the MHADA's meeting on August 26," Thackeray told reporters after the meeting.

Samant, who accompanied Thackeray in the press briefing, said, "We will positively consider the issues raised now in the authority's meeting on August 26."