MUMBAI: The first lot of BDD chawl residents from Worli will move into their new 500 sq feet carpet two-bedroom homes by January next year. From 160 sq feet homes with common toilets to self-contained apartments, residents will be making a life-changing shift. The work at Naigaum BDD and N M Joshi Marg BDD Chawls are lagging.
“Around 550 flats are nearing completion. We had promised to hand them over to residents by March 2025 but we are confident we can do so by January,” said a senior Maharashtra Housing Area Development Authority (MHADA) official requesting anonymity.
The official said MHADA had started construction of 14 buildings in phase I in Worli in 2021. The buildings, each of which is 40-storey high, are coming up on the Police Grounds. While two buildings are nearing completion, construction of six buildings is at an advanced stage. In all 33 buildings are to be constructed to accommodate 9,689 tenants of Worli BDD chawls. The redevelopment project was taken up in 2019 at an estimated cost of Rs 11,744 crore and with cost escalation it is estimated that the project cost at present is Rs 14,000 crore.
While the promise of a new home is enticing, the ongoing construction is causing huge hardships to tenants who continue to live in the chawls. The 160 residents of BDD chawl numbers 21 and 29 closest to the construction site are having a harrowing time and are demanding that they be shifted into the new buildings first.
“Malaria, Dengue have become a regular feature. The sewerage network has been destroyed. Sewage now flows into the storm water drains and there is a stench all around 24×7. The water pipelines run through the gutters and over the last one year we have been receiving contaminated water. The condition was never so bad in all these years. During construction, slabs have fallen, tiles are broken. There is no electricity for seven hours on most days. We have been writing to MHADA and PWD for the last one year but there is no redressal,” said Shailesh Gade, a resident.
On September 23 the residents met Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde, son of CM Eknath Shinde, along with Byculla MLA Yamini Jadhav demanding that they be first accommodated in the new towers that are nearing completion.
Officials said residents did not complain for the last three years when construction was on. “There were a few issues in between but they were immediately addressed. Now they see these ready buildings and are creating pressure to be shifted first. The land on which the chawls from 21-29, which includes police quarters has been earmarked for a recreation ground so they do not need to be vacated immediately. This will be developed last so these residents will be moved directly into the new flats,” said officials.
On the other hand, Chawls 61 to 82 are required to be vacated to start construction of the next phase, said officials. Currently 1,000 households from Worli have been shifted to transit camps and 600 are being paid rent of Rs 25,000 per month.
MHADA officials overseeing the Naigaum BDD redevelopment said in phase I eight buildings 23-storey each are being constructed. “By December 2025, 1,401 residents will be shifted to these buildings,” said a senior official. In all 3,344 residential households and 55 shops are to be rehabilitated at Naigaum.
