Council Chairman asks govt to prepare a policy on BDD chawls

The Maharashtra Legislative Council Chairman Ramraje Nimbalkar today instructed the state government to come up with a detailed policy on the redevelopment of Bombay Development Directorate chawls in the city, and table it in the winter session.
The BDD chawls were built by the government during the British era in the 1920s as a low-cost housing solution. There are 207 such chawls spread across 93 acres in Worli, Naigaon, NM Joshi Marg and Sewri.
NCP MLC Kiran Pawaskar raised the issue of the long- pending redevelopment of BDD chawls during the question hour, asking if the state housing department was preparing any plan in this regard.

"If so, who will do the redevelopment and when will it be completed?" he asked.
Congress MLC Bhai Jagtap said, "The government should redevelop these buildings before any unfortunate incident happens because these buildings are very old and not fit to live in."
Housing minister Prakash Mehta replied that the government will need three months to conduct a survey of all the 207 buildings.

"Only after we survey the buildings and get details we can decide how much area tenants can get (after redevelopment). In the meantime, the PWD department will take care of repairs," the minister said.
The chairman said the issue had been pending for long.

"I am aware of this issue and know that it is pending for the last 12-15 years. The minister concerned should have a meeting with the Chief Minister within the next 15 days and make a detailed policy which should be tabled in the next session," he said.