For nearly two decades after the shutdown of Mumbai’s iconic Century Mills, over 650 families of erstwhile mill workers living in crumbling 180 sq ft tenements in Worli lived under the shadow of eviction and uncertainty. Now, after an 18-year legal battle and a recent Supreme Court ruling in favour of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the long-delayed redevelopment of the colony is finally set to move forward.
The BMC has finalised Peddar Realty as the contractor to redevelop the plot, where 21 ageing buildings currently house families of former Century Mill workers. The project promises rehabilitation housing for all existing residents along with modern civic amenities.
In 1965, Bayalji Rama Kamble migrated from Satara to Mumbai to work as a weaver at Century Mills. Three generations of the Kamble family have since worked at the mill and continued living in the workers’ colony adjoining the compound. Even after the mill shut in 2008, the family stayed on, uncertain about their future.
“My grandfather (Bayalji) was the first from our family to get a job in Century Mills, after he died, my grandmother worked over there and after that my father was employed in the mill. Since, three generations from our family have worked in the mills we never relocated to any other place and have lived here ever since,” Sunil Kamble (57), grandson of Bayalji, told The Indian Express.
The housing colony stands on a land parcel originally owned by the BMC and leased to the Century Spinning and Manufacturing Company in 1927 at a nominal annual rent of Re 1 under the Bombay Improvement Trust Transfer Act. The rooms occupied by mill workers were allotted under the “Service Tenant Act,” as housing was linked to employment in the mills.
While the lease expired in 1955, the dispute over ownership escalated only after the mill suspended operations in 2006 and the company sought transfer of the land. In the meantime, Century Mill administration began issuing eviction notices to occupants under the “Service Tenant Act”.
The BMC challenged the company’s claim in court. While the Bombay High Court initially ruled in favour of Century Mills, the Supreme Court in January 2025 clarified that the lease terms did not obligate the civic body to hand over the land to the company.
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“Over the past 18 years the legal battle was ongoing. However, the condition of our houses deteriorated and we lived under uncertainty. Initially the BMC had sent us legal notices, but then we hit the streets for protest,” Kamble said.
At present, the plot has 476 tenements and 10 shops spread across 21 buildings, housing around 650 families, many with five to six members living in a single room.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Avinash Dhakane, Additional Municipal Commissioner of the BMC, said the developer would pay Rs 1,351 crore to the civic body for the project, while the current valuation of the land stands at Rs 660 crore. The lease period is for 30 years with a renewable clause under private participation.
“The primary clause of this project is that all the families of the erstwhile mill workers who have been living in these 476 housing tenements should get rehabilitated. The residents will get new houses accompanied with all modern civic amenities. Meanwhile, this project is also going to get BMC an additional revenue of Rs 1,300 crore,” Dhakane told Express.
Under the redevelopment plan, the existing buildings will be replaced with residential towers, and mill worker families will be allotted flats measuring 300-400 sq ft. Around 500 flats have been reserved for the workers, while the remaining units will be sold in the open market.
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Despite the breakthrough, residents remain cautious, fearing delays or the project stalling midway — a familiar story in Mumbai’s redevelopment landscape.
Narindra Sharma (52), who has lived in the colony since birth, said residents were promised homes under the provisions of Section 33(9) of the DCPR 2034 redevelopment regulations.
“In 2014, the state government had issued a GR (Government Resolution) promising that no mill worker should be evicted from their houses. Following which we were promised allocation of housing units under 33(9). Today, we should be given at least a 400 square feet house since every household has at least 4 members and living inside a 180 square feet flat is claustrophobic and inhumane,” Sharma told Express.
Once the backbone of Mumbai’s economy, the city’s cotton mill industry began declining in the 1970s amid labour unrest, repeated strikes and changing industrial dynamics. As one mill after another shut down, vast mill lands across central Mumbai gradually transformed into high-value real estate projects, reshaping the city’s skyline and pushing thousands of mill workers into uncertainty.
