11 years on, Ambedkar-built hostel in Wadala to be rebuilt

MUMBAI: Nearly 11 years after the original building was declared dilapidated and demolished, the Maharashtra government has sanctioned ₹41

MUMBAI: Nearly 11 years after the original building was declared dilapidated and demolished, the Maharashtra government has sanctioned ₹41.21 crore for the reconstruction of the Siddharth Vihar Hostel in Wadala. The decision will revive a facility established by Dr BR Ambedkar to expand access to education for Dalit students.

Mumbai, India - Feb. 9, 2015 - Hostel residence protest against the evacuation outside the Siddharth Vihar. As BMC Officers evacuated hostel of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar college also known as Siddharth Vihar, in Wadala, because buildings is in dilapidated condition in Mumbai, India, on Monday, February 9, 2015. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ {c redit}) (Hindustan Times)

The hostel building was declared dilapidated by the BMC in 1987 and demolished in February 2015. After that, prolonged delays over funding and approvals kept the redevelopment of the institution in Limbo. Things are now moving in the run-up to the 135th birth anniversary of Dr Ambedkar in April next year, with a government order releasing ₹41.21 crore for the hostel’s reconstruction.

The three-storey hostel was part of Dr Ambedkar College and used to be run by the People’s Education Society (PES), a trust formed by Dr Ambedkar to run education institutes for Dalit students in the state. The hostel was declared dangerous by the BMC in 1987 and subsequently stopped admitting students. But the trust could not afford to repair the ground-plus-three-storey building. Worse, pending dues to the BMC had mounted to ₹23 lakh.

The hostel had 147 rooms and was once used by Namdeo Dhasal, noted poet and founder of the Dalit Panthers, a political outfit to which Union minister Ramdas Athavale and many other Dalit leaders belonged in their college days.

The redevelopment proposal, prepared by architect Shashi Prabhu, had pegged the cost of reconstruction at ₹78 crore and was submitted to the state government. However, the project remained stalled for years as funds were not sanctioned.

“While granting final sanction, the state social justice and special assistance department relaxed a few conditions to speed up the work,” said a senior official from the department. “In-principle approval was given on the condition that it would require prior approval from the state finance department. But the final sanction was granted after the chief minister’s go-ahead,” the official added. Now, tenders can be floated and p;lans can move forward.

Ashish Gade, executive member of the PES, said that the money sanctioned is not enough. “To complete the hostel building, we need at least ₹80 crore; ₹41 crore is not sufficient. The state government will have to revise the proposal,” said Gade.

Anandraj Ambedkar, chairperson of the PES, admitted that the funds sanctioned fall short of the required sum but said, “We want the project to get started and hence accepted ₹41.21 crore allocation.” On the delays, he added, “Better late than never.”

The government had first granted in-principle approval for the project as a special case following a meeting of a high-level secretaries’ committee on March 1, 2024. This was followed by a government resolution granting in-principle approval on October 15, 2024. The PES, which operates the hostel, will have to get the building plan approved by an architect before the funds are released.

Approval to rebuild the hostel was granted under a scheme for developing places associated with Dr Ambedkar’s life and sites of historical and cultural importance to Scheduled Castes and Neo-Buddhist communities.