BMC gets ₹1,351-crore top bid for Century Mills redevelopment

The civic body had invited bids for the Century Mills land in Lower Parel in December last year to lease the land for 30 years under a public-private partnership (PPP) model

MUMBAI: After a two-decade-long struggle, 650-odd families of erstwhile Century Mills workers can hope to receive new homes on a 6.17-acre plot in Lower Parel. The development comes as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has received a ₹1,351-crore bid from Peddar Realty Ltd, the highest among four bidders for redevelopment of the land parcel.

Mumbai, India - April 7, 2025:Century Staff Quarters (Bawan Chawl) at Worli in Mumbai, India, on Monday, April 7, 2025. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

The ₹1,351-crore bid is among the highest-ever bids received for the redevelopment of a former mill land parcel in Mumbai in recent years, but is lower than the ₹1,505 crore paid for the sale of the 8.37-acre Bharat Textile Mills land in 2010.

The civic body had invited bids for the Century Mills land in Lower Parel in December last year to lease the land for 30 years under a public-private partnership (PPP) model. Besides Peddar Realty, K Raheja Corp Pvt Ltd, Keystone Realtors Ltd and Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate Pvt Ltd had participated in the bidding. The reserve price for the tender was ₹1,348 crore, while the six-acre land parcel is currently valued at around ₹660 crore.

Sanjog Kabare, joint municipal commissioner (improvements), said, “Peddar Realty is the highest bidder among the four bidders. They have bid ₹1,351 crore and the Century Mills land will be leased for 30 years. The proposal to appoint Peddar Realty will be placed before the improvements committee for approval, following which the contract will be awarded.”

The Century Mills plot currently has 23 buildings comprising 476 tenements occupied by eligible mill workers’ families and ten shops. The BMC plans to redevelop the land with a highrise residential complex on the lines of MHADA projects. Rehabilitation flats will be allotted to eligible tenants, while additional apartments will be sold in the open market to generate revenue.

The 30-year lease agreement includes a renewable clause. For the tenants, mostly mill workers and their families, this development comes after years of uncertainty. Rajesh Parab, a Century Mills tenant, said the workers have waited nearly two decades for rehabilitation.

“The mill shut in December 2006 and at least 250 mill workers have died waiting for their homes to be redeveloped. If the project is delayed further, many of the remaining families may never get to see the outcome of the struggle. They have spent decades living in cramped 180-sq ft rooms and want to move into their redeveloped homes during their lifetime,”said Parab.

Sources said the size of the new flats will be around 405 sq ft, depending on the scheme chosen by the developer. “Under cluster redevelopment, the developer can opt to build under DCPR 33(23) or DCPR 33(9), typically applied to old, dilapidated or hazardous structures like BDD chawls,” a civic official explained.

The tenants first received eviction notices in February 2025 following a Supreme Court ruling upholding BMC’s ownership of the 25,000-sq-metre (6.17-acre) plot, currently valued at ₹660 crore. The land had been leased to Century Spinning and Manufacturing Limited in 1927 for 28 years, with a lease condition that housing for mill workers be constructed. After expiry in 1955, the land was to revert to BMC ownership.

Century Mills fought to retain the plot through legal battles. In 2017, the company won its case in the Bombay High Court but this was challenged by the BMC in the Supreme Court. In January last year, the apex court dismissed Century Mills’ plea, clearing the way for the BMC to initiate redevelopment.