Khanderao Block in Khotachiwadi razed for redevelopment

All 64 residents of Khanderao Block will be rehoused in-situ in a 10-storey building spread across the 13,900-sqft plot area

Mumbai: A part of Khotachiwadi, a 200-year-old heritage village in the heart of Girgaon, is history. The Khanderao Block, or Khanderao Chawl, which once housed the staff of the affluent owners of the colourful Indo-Portuguese-style bungalows that dot the village, is among half a dozen structures in Khotachiwadi Lane that have been razed for redevelopment.

Mumbai, India - April 3, 2026: Site of Khandekar block in Khotachi Wadi, Girgoan in Mumbai, India, on Friday, April 3, 2026. (Photo by Anshuman Poyrekar/Hindustan Times) (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

While Khotachiwadi is a Grade III heritage precinct, which has made its redevelopment a highly contentious issue, the structures that were razed were in the non-heritage section of the neighbourhood. According to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC’s) records, while the Khanderao Block was outside the heritage precinct, the Khotachiwadi Lane is part of it.

Civic regulations permit the reconstruction of listed Grade III heritage structures and precincts if they are in poor condition or if the redeveloped building does not interfere with the heritage precinct’s skyline.

The Khanderao Block chawls were an extension of the Portuguese-style structures, with porches on every floor. “These were some of the most beautiful three-storey Portuguese-style buildings, arranged in a U-shape with a temple in the centre,” recalled noted fashion designer James Ferreira, who lives in one of the bungalows that has stood for around 200 years in the precinct, known as the “mini Goa of Mumbai”.

All 64 residents of Khanderao Block will be rehoused in-situ in a 10-storey building spread across the 13,900-sqft plot area. “There will not be any free sale flats coming up here,” said Anuj Mehta, partner and CEO of the Dhuleva Group, the project’s developer.

So far, the residents at Khotachiwadi have successfully made themselves heard to preserve the neighbourhood’s old-world charm. “We have had support from the Thackerays, including Aaditya Thackeray,” said Ferreira.

Another resident who lives opposite the razed Khanderao Block, requesting anonymity, lamented that the neighbourhood is rapidly changing. “Those who revisit after some years are unable to recognise the lanes,” they said.

However, the new-age Mumbai has now reached their doorsteps, with the entrance to Khotachiwadi Lane now dwarfed by recently constructed high-rises facing V P Road. “A high-rise will not come up at this location,” assured Mehta, adding that his company will utilise the Floor Space Index (FSI) available from this location in its other redevelopment project in Mumbai.

Being reconstructed under Development Control and Promotion Regulations 33(7), the builder will gain FSI 3 of the gross plot area or the FSI needed to rehouse the residents, plus a 50% incentive FSI, whichever is higher, Mehta revealed.

After transferring the development rights from another developer, the buildings were razed in the second half of 2025. In a couple of years, residents who once lived in 120-200 sqft homes will receive new houses measuring 450-500 sqft.

Pre-Independence, the Khanderao Block, located at the entrance of Khotachiwadi, was owned by the Parelkar family—Krishnarao Khanderao Parelkar, Shankar Khanderao Parelkar, Anandrao Krishnarao Parelkar and Narayen Krishnarao Parelkar. Khanderao Parelkar, an architect, was involved with some of Mumbai’s most notable Art Deco buildings, such as Marble Arch at Cumbala Hill and the Karfule fuel station at Ballard Estate.

In Mumbai, the two-decade-old notified heritage list of 633 structures includes 275-odd Grade III structures and 13 precincts, one of which is Khotachiwadi.