MC Exclusive: Central Mumbai refugee colony to be  redeveloped along the lines of BDD Chawl, says Fadnavis

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Housing Minister Devendra Fadnavis on September 30 said that state run Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) will take up the redevelopment of the refugee colony in the GTB Nagar area of central Mumbai.

Fadnavis told Moneycontrol on the sidelines of the Naredco  (Maharashtra) property exhibition 2022, that the authorities were working on the redevelopment and it would be undertaken along the lines of the BDD Chawl project.

"We are working on the redevelopment of the refugee colony in GTB Nagar and will take it up on the lines of BDD Chawl redevelopment,’’ he said.

The Bombay Development Directorate (BDD) Chawl was constructed by the British  as low cost housing for mill workers and dock workers, civic, and other government employees. The Maharashtra government has taken up the redevelopment of the same with the help of MHADA.

In the refugee colony,  the Indian government had mostly rehabilitated Sindhi and Punjabi refugees. Around 1,200 families had been rehabilitated in the low-cost housing scheme.

The cost of one apartment at the time was around Rs 5,380, at a per square foot (psf) rate of around Rs 14-15. The refugees were given the option of paying in installments, which made the purchase practical for them. Today, the psf rate in the area ranges between Rs 20,000-30,000.

Speaking at the National Real Estate Development Council (Naredco) event, Fadnavis further stated, "We are also working on the redevelopment of Dharavi, one of Asia's largest slum clusters. The work will be awarded in the next 3-4 months. The real estate sector is doing good and now is the time for the stakeholders to prove that they can be of true help to the ecosystem."

"RERA is one of the reasons why credibility has come back (to the sector), and we are among the first states to implement it," he added.

The NAREDCO exhibition was unveiled on September 30 with more than 150 developers putting projects worth over ₹ 1 lakh crore on display.