Worli tenants to get transit housing at same location

The tenants of the Worli Bombay Development Directorate (BDD) chawls will get temporary accommodation at the same place, the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) has said. A total of seven transit buildings will be constructed, to accommodate 1,400 tenants, until the construction of one rehabilitation building is complete. The same process will be repeated to shift the next set of tenants, and so on. A senior official of MHADA, the nodal agency in charge of the project, said since the Worli BDD chawl land is spread out over 54 acres, it is possible to construct transit buildings at the same place. Under this redevelopment project, a total of 87 rehab buildings will be constructed in two-and-half years, in five phases each, to provide tenements to 9,680 original occupants. The Tataled consortium will undertake the project at a cost of Rs 11,700 crore.

The Free Press Journal had earlier reported that the redevelopment project of the Worli BDD chawl is awaiting a nod from the Tree Authority of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). Around 600 trees must be felled and transplanted before work on the transit and rehab buildings can begin, according to MHADA officials.

For other BDD chawl redevelopment projects -- on N M Joshi Marg and in DadarNaigaon, tenants will be given alternative accommodation in mill buildings. Ruby Mill, Jubilee Mill, Prakash Cotton Mill, Western India Mill, Century Mill, and Bharat Mill are the six mills which have been identified and have a total of 1,127 transit houses, which will be given to NM Joshi and DadarNaigaon BDD tenants. The official said, “The housing projects will be completed within a given deadline, unlike other redevelopment projects. Once the project is completed, for the next ten years, the occupants do not have to pay any maintenance charges. MHADA’s appointed contractor will bear the burden of expenses if any. All the occupants have to do is to pay the electricity bill. Also, alternative housing provided will be 225 square feet in carpet area, bigger than the houses they are currently living in,” remarked the official.

For the construction of redevelopment buildings, the latest technology will be used. Aluform is a modern technique which will be used in the construction.