First batch of redeveloped BDD chawls to handed over by August 15

MHADA plans to hand over 556 housing units in Worli by Independence Day, marking progress in the redevelopment of BDD Chawls for original tenants.

Mumbai: In 2016, over nine years ago the state government decided that the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) would redevelop the Bombay Development Department Chawls (BDD). Finally, by this Independence day, the first lot of the homes are likely to be handed over to their new residents.

First batch of redeveloped BDD chawls to handed over by August 15

The BDD Chawls, built between 1920 and 1925 by the Bombay Development Department, were among the first batches of affordable urban housing for migrant workers who worked in the textile mills, docks and railways.

According to a senior MHADA official, 556 housing units are ready in Worli, and an Occupation Certificate for them was issued a few days ago. MHADA is waiting to hear from the chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and his two deputy chief ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, to finalise the date for the handover ceremony..

The function, which was to be held on March 30, on the occasion of Gudi Padwa, the Maharashtrian new year, was delayed by issues at the construction sites. However, later this year MHADA is set to finish constructing a total of 3,989 flats, 2,246 in Worli, 1401 at Naigaon, and the remaining 342 at N M Joshi Road, said the official.

Residents of these flats will be moving from their 160 sq.ft homes to the new 500 sq.ft flats, each having a living room, a master bedroom with an attached bathroom, a second bedroom with a separate bathroom, a dining area, and an area for the washing machine and other amenities.

MHADA officials added that amenities such as a club house, a school, a hospital, a playground, a library, a welfare centre, a dispensary, a society office and a community hall will also be provided.

General secretary, Akhil BDD Chawl Bhadekaru Hakk Sarankshan Samiti, Kiran Mane, said, “Each of the owners will also get a parking space apart from monthly maintenance being taken care of for the next 12 years.” He added however that a fund will be set aside for the maintenance of the society for 12 years.

In March 2016, the Maharashtra government had issued a government resolution (GR) appointing MHADA in charge of the redevelopment project. In 2018, MHADA took up the ₹16,000 crore work of redeveloping the BBD chawls of which 121 chawls are in Worli, 42 in Naigaon, 32 in NM Joshi Marg and 12 in Sewri.

In 2021, for the project’s first phase, MHADA began constructing 14 buildings at Worli, two of which are now ready. Each is set to have 40 floors, and a total of 33 buildings are to be built to house the 9,689 residents of the BDD Chawl in Worli.

Another MHADA official shared that through the redevelopment process, the development authority seeks to utilise 68% of the freed up land for rehabilitating the original tenants. To recover the construction costs, MHADA plans to make the rest of the land available to private developers in an open market.

The first phase of the project, involving the D and E wings of Building 1 in Worli, MHADA will rehouse 5,198 families, and build a large 1,80,000 sq.m commercial complex. In addition, MHADA plans to provide houses to 1,860 middle-income families and 1,036 high-income groups through the housing lottery system.

Work in Naigaon is also underway. The first phase involves 1,401 units, expected to be ready by March 2026. At N M Joshi Road, 10 chawls have already been demolished and seven new towers are under construction. In Sewri, the redevelopment will begin once the land transfer process is completed by the central government. In the first phase of redevelopment of the N M Joshi Road BDD Chawls, 1,260 families will be rehoused by April 2026.