In one of the many pre-election sops being doled out by the state government,the cabinet is soon likely to approve a proposal to redevelop pockets of Bombay Development Directorate (BDD) chawls spread over a total area of 92 acres in the island city. Built more than 80 years ago,these chawls will now be rebuilt under the cluster redevelopment model. The state housing department will place a proposal to this effect before the cabinet for its approval wherein each of the existing families in BDD chawls will be housed in new self-contained 300 sq ft flats which is double the size of their existing tenements. The state housing department has proposed that the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) will prepare the masterplan for the redevelopment of BDD chawls. The redevelopment will be on the lines of the Dharavi project. We will call for bids from private developers for the individual sectors. The builders,who agree to pay the maximum premium amount or offer the highest built up area to MHADA for public housing,will be awarded the project, said a senior state government official. The BDD chawls were built by the British government to house the citys homeless. For years,these tiny 150 sq ft flats with common toilets found no takers and many of these tenements had to be transformed into temporary prisons for freedom fighters. There are over 20 such decrepit chawl pockets in state government-owned lands in Worli,Naigaon,Parel and Sewri. Around 20,000 families live there. Under the cluster redevelopment policy,the developers who bag the project will be granted a Floor Space Index (FSI) of four to rehouse the existing tenants as also construct their sale component. Two years ago,a state government appointed technical committee had recommended that MHADA should redevelop these chawls instead of roping in private developers,a plan which was being seriously considered by the state government until now.
