Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and NCP chief Sharad Pawar have laid the foundation stone for the redevelopment of BDD chawls in Mumbai
The Maharashtra government has kicked off the redevelopment process of BDD (Bombay Development Directorate) chawls in Mumbai. During the foundation stone-laying ceremony by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and NCP chief Sharad Pawar, on August 1, 2021, the government announced the redevelopment of Worli’s nearly century-old BDD chawls in phases. The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), will be the nodal agency for the redevelopment project.
This redevelopment will be one of Asia’s largest cluster redevelopment projects that are led by a state government, point out industry experts. To be developed in phases, Tata Projects Limited, Capicit’e Infraprojects Ltd, and Citic Group Consortium secured the Rs 11,744-crore order for the redevelopment of the existing BDD chawls at Worli, Mumbai.
Reports suggest that according to the redevelopment plan for the 195 chawls on the 34.05 hectares of government land in Worli, eligible unitholders will be given 500 sq ft units free of cost on an ownership basis. Housing units of 269 sq ft each will be given to slum dwellers. More than 1,700 families of police personnel who are living in BDD chawls after their retirement are also entitled to free housing under the redevelopment scheme. These units will be given from the surplus flats that MHADA has and will not have any impact on units to be given in other categories. Also, the Maharashtra government recently extended the eligibility of free housing in this project to people paying rent, as of January 1, 2021.
Recently, the Maharashtra state government issued a notification, allowing MHADA to sign new house-sale agreements with BDD Chawl tenants. The tenants who shifted to transit houses and whose names have been selected in the lottery will sign the new house-sale agreements. The lottery draw was held for 272 units in February 2021. This move will help overcome the problem of tenants not backing the redevelopment project.
On August 18, 2021, the Maharashtra cabinet announced that while the housing units at Mumbai’s BDD chawls would be free for eligible residents, the state government would charge Rs 1,000 as the stamp duty and agreement charge per house. This is a respite for the residents of BDD chawls as otherwise, the stamp duty for properties in Maharashtra is 5% of the property’s value.
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-three-story buildings, having 16,557 flats measuring 160 sq ft.
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