The Bombay Development Directorate (BDD) Chawl Redevelopment Project the largest urban renewal initiative in Asia has reached a historic milestone. Under the first phase of the Worli BDD Chawl redevelopment, a total of 556 eligible residents will be handed over flats in two rehab buildings. The ceremony will take place on Thursday, August 14 at 11 am at Yashwantrao Chavan Natyagruha, Matunga (West).
From 160 sq ft to Modern 2BHK Homes
The project, being implemented by MHADA’s Mumbai Housing and Area Development Board, is one of the Maharashtra government’s most ambitious undertakings. In the first phase, 556 flats from D and E wings of Building No. 01 will be handed over. The event will be attended by Deputy Chief Minister and Housing Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar among other prominent ministers and officers.
Comprehensive Township Development
The Worli project will rehabilitate 9,689 residents from 121 old chawls. MHADA has allocated 65% of the total land for rehabilitation purposes. Eligible residents, currently living in 160 sq ft rooms, will receive ownership of modern 2BHK flats measuring 500 sq ft carpet area, free of cost. The plan includes 34 rehabilitation towers of 40 storeys each. Each flat will come with one parking space in the stilt plus six-level podium parking, and a landscaped eco-friendly garden being developed on the seventh-floor podium.
Preserving Heritage Amid Redevelopment
The project will create a self-sufficient township with a commercial complex, school, gymnasium, hospital, and hostel, along with sewage treatment, solar energy systems, and rainwater harvesting facilities. MHADA will maintain the rehabilitated buildings for 12 years. The historic Jamboree Maidan (ground) and Ambedkar Maidan (Ground) will be preserved, and one old chawl building will be converted into a museum to document the heritage of the BDD chawls for future generations.
Transit and Rent Support for Residents
By December this year, a total of 3,989 another set of flats across all three BDD Chawl projects will be completed. Worli residents have been shifted to temporary transit camps, with an option of accepting monthly rent or transit accommodation. Eligible residential and commercial occupants are being provided with an advance rent of Rs 25,000 per month for 11 months.
The event will be webcast live and streamed on MHADA’s official YouTube and Facebook channels.
Future Targets
The BDD Chawl Redevelopment Project covers about 86 acres across Worli, N M. Joshi Marg (Parel), and Naigaon in Mumbai, with a total of 207 chawls to be redeveloped and 15,593 residents to be rehabilitated. The N M. Joshi Marg project includes 2,560 residential and commercial units with 14 rehabilitation buildings under construction, while at Naigaon (Dadar), work is underway to build 20 rehabilitation buildings for 3,344 units.
