The ‘SRA project specialist’ that has delivered 15,000 houses in Mumbai

On August 23, Omkar had handed over keys to 900 families in the Dhobi Ghat SRA development as part of Phase I, taking the total rehabilitation tenements to 14,650. Tuesday’s lottery will set in motion the handover of 1,000 more homes in the next phase

MUMBAI: On Tuesday, when a Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) announced the allocation of tenements to slum dwellers in the 42-storey Dhobi Ghat SRA development, it was an emotional moment for many in the 1,000 families, some of whom would get the prized apartments with a breathtaking view of the Mahalaxmi Racecourse concourse and the Arabian Sea beyond. Although that much-hyped sea view is under a grey cloud of smog right now, a rightful home in Mumbai is a coveted dream.

In his very first project, Varma realised that his calling was directly connecting and dealing with people using gentle persuasion.

The moment also marks a landmark moment for Omkar Realtors, a developer that has worked with some of the leading branded developers and completely handled the slum rehab component, often perceived as the difficult part of a SRA development. With these 1,000 homes allocated, Omkar Realtors, led by its soft-spoken managing director Babulal Verma, has crossed the 15,000-tenement mark in rehabilitation of slum dwellers in 29 different projects since 2005.

On August 23, Omkar had handed over keys to 900 families in the Dhobi Ghat SRA development as part of Phase I, taking the total rehabilitation tenements to 14,650. Tuesday’s lottery will set in motion the handover of 1,000 more homes in the next phase. A joint venture between Omkar Realtors and Piramal Realty, the Dhobi Ghat project, set at the iconic open-air laundry, will house approximately 16,000 residents in four 42-storey towers. The Dhobi Ghat project set a qualitative benchmark for rehab development by using Turkish technology and even Turkish construction workers.

It all started for Babulal Varma, a second-generation entrepreneur in the construction business, when he came from Gujarat to visit a project undertaken by his cousin in 2002-2003. He undertook the redevelopment of a chawl in Parel, Deep Residency, and rehoused the first 33 tenants. “The site was such that barely three and a half feet of space was available to enter and construct,” he said. “But I managed to construct an eight-storey building within seven to eight months, surprising Mumbai’s real estate industry. Varma has not looked back since, and Omkar has cemented its reputation as the slum rehabilitation project specialist.

In his very first project, Varma realised that his calling was directly connecting and dealing with people using gentle persuasion. He narrates the story of an old Maharashtrian woman from Kolhapur, among the 33 tenants who refused to vacate, and how he managed to persuade her.

“I would go to her house every day, and she would tell me how developers cannot be trusted,” he recounted. “It took 15 days for her to warm up to me and offer water for the first time. Gradually, I would go and eat with her. And what was the reason for her refusal to vacate? She had lost her son who had dreamed of fitting a particular kind of floor tile in the new redeveloped house and she wanted that to be used. Though I had already completed the work in her house with better quality and more expensive floor tiles, I removed them, and relaid the floor with the tiles of her choice. She happily moved into the new house.”

When she passed away, the woman bequeathed the house to Varma. “I was stunned,” he recalled. “She was upset with her daughter for not taking care of her during her illness, so she left the house to me. I called her daughter and transferred it back in her name.”

Varma and his team moved on to bigger rehab projects across Mumbai. Omkar rehabilitated 250 families at Sion where its corporate headquarters is located, 900 families in Vile Parle in its ‘Summit Business Bay’ project, and 1,621 families in its ‘Omkar 1973’ highrise. It rehabilitated 2,400 families in its ‘Alte Monte’ project in Malad, and 2,600 in its joint venture with Larsen & Toubro in its ‘Crescent Bay’ project in Bhoiwada-Sewri. The Dhobi Ghat project will be its biggest and rehabilitate 3,000 families.

“To ensure better quality, I have to spend 10 to 15 per cent more, but it doesn’t affect my overall project. Almost 98 percent of slum dwellers only want a better home and only one or two percent cause nuisance,” says Varma, adding that the construction quality of Omkar SRA projects, the ventilation, and amenities provided are a notch above other SRA homes.

“I ensure that adequate natural light comes in, and corridors are wide and accessible,” he said. “When you construct a building, it is going to remain for 50 years. We use the same quality of concrete and same quality of steel used in a saleable project. If you compromise on the bones in your body, you are compromising with your life.”

Varma admits that the challenges of slum rehabilitation are complex, as a diverse set of people with different income levels and mindsets, from different communities and cultures have to cohabit in that space. “We even design special workshops for slum dwellers before and after they move into the SRA projects as they undergo a complete mindset change,” he said. “Living in a vertical highrise is also a challenge, but if we have to provide 300 sq ft homes, there is no option but to go vertical.”

The Omkar group went through a dark phase when the Enforcement Directorate lodged a money-laundering case against its chairman and managing director. They were discharged in August 2022 by a Special PMLA court on the grounds that there was no scheduled offence made out. “We have faced bad times but our deliveries of rehab homes continued even during the pandemic,” said Varma. “After the lottery ceremony for 1,000 homes, we have scheduled the handover of 300 homes in the Bhoiwada SRA development this month.” Next on the anvil are joint ventures with market leaders Lodha and Godrej.