Sewri BDD Chawl redevelopment stuck for want of Centre’s nod
The land belongs to MbPT and was given on lease for 99 years; lease expiring this year
Those living in the 12 dilapidated buildings in the Bombay Development Directorate (BDD) chawls in Sewri are running out patience as 960 families have been waiting to get a new house through a redevelopment project.
These buildings are 99 years old and their lease expires this year, said Mansingh Rane, one of the residents. He said the Mumbai Port Trust is the owner of this land and is ready to extend the lease tenure. “However, the Centre’s permission is required to carry out the project by the state government. The redevelopment project of BDD chawls at Naigoan, NM Joshi Marg and Worli have been initiated, but the Sewri project is stuck for want of permission from the Centre,” he said.
The residents of Sewri BDD chawls live in 160-sqft tenements and now want new and bigger houses. Rane said, “Many families have been separated due to lack of space in these old houses. If we are given good new houses, we can all stay together. Today, our children after marriage have to stay in rented homes.”
The residents recently met state housing minister Jitendra Awhad and environment minister Aaditya Thackeray, along with MP Arvind Sawant and their local legislator. They said they have been assured that the redevelopment project will begin and necessary correspondence with the Centre will be initiated. Rane claimed that in the meeting Awhad said if the Centre wants to be compensated in lieu of the redevelopment project then the state is ready to do so. However, the project should not be stalled.
Currently, the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) has been appointed as the nodal agency for the project. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray held the ground-breaking ceremony of the Worli BDD chawl project recently. The BDD chawl redevelopment project is one of the biggest housing schemes in the state. Apart from providing new houses to tenants, fresh housing stock will be generated in prime locations in Mumbai and offered to the public at affordable rates under lottery draw by MHADA.