Chira Bazaar to house city’s largest cluster redevelopment project

The cluster redevelopment policy allows developers redeveloping cessed buildings in an area over one acre (4000 sq mts) in the island city a floor space index (FSI) of 4 or even higher depending on the number of tenants. The redevelopment of Chira Bazaar was one of the first projects to be submitted immediately after the policy was unveiled in March 2009. However,back then the proposal wasn’t cleared as it did not have the mandatory consent from landlords though it had 70 per cent consent of tenants.

The project is being executed by the Remaking of Mumbai Federation (Lok Group) along with Unity Infrastructure at a estimated cost of Rs 4000 crore. “Once we received the letter of intent from the state government we will go ahead with getting the consent of landlords,” said Mayank Gandhi from ROMF. The rehabilitation will take into its fold the residents and those who run the characteristic garment,jewellery and wholesale papers shops in the locality. “The area is split equally between commercial and residential settlements,” said Gandhi.

For the Botawala Chawl redevelopment project,Sarah Housing Development Ltd will rehabilitate its predominantly residential tenements and handful of shops. The 100-150 sq ft cramped houses in the century-old chawl is inhabited by former mill workers who worked in the central Mumbai’s textile heartland.

“We have purchased the plot from the Botawala trust which constructed the chawl in 1917. Since then it has been home to mill workers; today there are cramped houses shared by as many as three siblings and their families,” said S S Ratansi from Sarah Housing. In the wake of the 2005 deluge that hit Mumbai,the dilapidated chawl had witnessed a partial collapse following which the tenants had put up a strong resistance against forcible eviction by MHADA.

Till date the high-powered committee headed by the municipal commissioner has cleared a total of 25 cluster redevelopment proposals. Once the two proposals are cleared by the Chief Minister,the total number of ongoing cluster projects in the city will go up to six,the other projects being those carried out by Nish Builders,Shreepati Developers,DB Realty and the Saifee Burhani Trust.