Redevelopment of chawls will raise standard of living of people: Maharashtra CM

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said redevelopment of BDD chawls will raise the standard of living of over 12,000 families currently staying in close-packed homes.

"This (redevelopment) project is going to be one of the most prestigious and beautiful urban development project in the country, it will raise the standard of living of thousands of people living in a close-packed 160 sq ft premises," said the chief minister.

Fadnavis performed the groundbreaking ceremony (bhoomipujan) for redevelopment projects of the BDD chawls in south Mumbai.

Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Fadnavis said, "The first priority is to rehabilitate the tenants in a 500 sq ft flat against their 160 sq ft tenements and after that the saleable component would be constructed."

"In this redevelopment project of the chawls, 68 per cent of land will be utilised to rehabilitate the residents and only 32 per cent will used by the developer," said Fadnavis.

These chawls have an indelible contribution to the cultural history of Mumbai.

Fadnavis also announced that his government was working on a fasttrack mode for police housing and in the next two years, its results would be visible.

Fadnavis blamed the previous government for not working to materialise this redevelopment project.

"Earlier government only talked of redevelopment of this project but we have actually started the work," said the CM.

Housing minister Prakash Mehta credited Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for removing the hurdles that were coming in the way of the redevelopment project.

"If this project has seen the light of the day today, it is because of chief minister who meticulously removed all the technical glitches coming in the way," said Mehta, who also celebrated his birthday during the bhoomipujan.

Government of Maharashtra has appointed Mhada as the nodal agency to execute the project through contractors.

Larsen & Toubro has been tasked to redevelop the BDD chawls at Naigaon in Dadar, while the contract to redevelop the chawls of NM Joshi Marg in Lower Parel has been awarded to Shapoorji Pallonji Group.

The Sewri site will be redeveloped by the Mumbai Port Trust, which owns the land.

With an FSI of four, chawls will be redeveloped under the cluster redevelopment scheme in which one cluster will comprise four chawls.

The tenants of this chawl are entitled to a flat with 500 sq ft carpet area, which is inclusive of fungible FSI.

However, there will be no affordable segment in the sale component.

The Bombay Development Directorate (BDD) chawls were build in 1920's by Britishers with an objective to create low-cost housing in Mumbai.

There are 207 such chawls in south Mumbai spread over 37 hectares in four areas Worli (22.14 hectare), NM Joshi Marg (5.46 hectare), Sewri (2.32 hectare) and Naigaon (6.45 hectare).

As many as 12,327 families are currently living in these 160-sq ft premises.