Dhobi Ghat losing the plot, for a highrise in the bargain
SRA set to clear proposal to redevelop shanties on the plot adjoining the heritage washing area
(Source: Express photo by Amit Chakravarty)
Dhobi Ghat, world’s largest open-air laundromat, might soon witness the staccato rhythm of scrubbing and flogging being drowned out by the drone of frenzied construction.
After a decade-long tussle among the washermen over the settlement’s redevelopment, the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) is set to approve a proposal to redevelop shanties in the prime plot in South Mumbai.
A senior SRA official confirmed the agency was in the final stages of sanctioning a proposal submitted by Omkar Realtors. Flanked by the Mahalaxmi Race Course and beyond it, the Arabian sea, Dhobi Ghat makes for a potentially plum real estate in a land-starved city. The heritage washing area with its 731 washing pens and flogging stones, which was created by the British administration to service the English and elite Parsis, will retain its anachronistic identity. A adjoining 28,455 sqm plot, which was once a vacant land used as drying area for the clothes, has with stealth encroachment over the last three decades turned into a slum sprawl housing over 1500 families, including those of several washermen and their workers. This is the plot that will now see the slum-dwellers being shifted to 20-storey-plus towers. In return, the developer will get to commercially exploit the remaining cleared-up land using a high floor space index (FSI) of three.
For the plans to get off the ground, as per rules, Omkar Realtors will have to get the consent of at least 70 per cent of the residents.
According to a senior SRA officer, 512 members have given their bio-metric consent to the builder so far in presence of officials. “We are almost done scrutinizing the proposal and will sanction it once we get remarks from the finance department about the financial capability of the developer,” said the official.
The developers, however, claim they have received consent of 1,222 families. “A majority of tenants are already with us. As per procedure, we have held the annual general body meeting in presence of SRA officials and will ensure we will follow all relevant procedures,” said a company spokesperson.
The proposed redevelopment is the culmination of a protracted battle between the washermen, who own rassis (clothesline) in the drying area, and those washermen and workers who live in the slums. The latter faction was further divided over whether the redevelopment should be carried out by Lokhandwala developers or Kimaya developers. Lokhandwala’s plans to construct 80-storey towers as part of their sale component got a leg-up when the SRA gave them the go-ahead in 2011. The Worli-based real estate major was forced to pull out last month after the Bombay High Court ruled against them, citing lack of consensus among the locals. The court directed the state government to invite fresh bids following which Omkar Developers came on the scene.
A spokesperson for the Omkar said the the rassi owners would be included as part of the project without specifying whether they would be accommodated in the residential towers or given a land parcel as demanded by them. “The slum-dwellers might have consented but we will carefully examine what the developer has to offer and only then decide whether to agree to it,” said Jata Shankar from the Dhobi Kalyan and Audhyogik Vikas Co op. Society Ltd, whose members own the clothesline and operate the washing troughs. The group has been in opposition to any redevelopment proposal, contending that the drying area rightfully belonged to them.
shalini.nair@expressindia.com
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