MHADA gets green nod to build flats at at Century Mills plot

“We had started the base preparation work at the site. Now with the environment clearance in, we can begin the construction of the two towers. One tower roughly takes about 18 months to complete, so we expect the total work to be completed in about two years,” a MHADA official said.

The housing authority has proposed a built-up area of around 63,980 sq m spread on a 13,092 sq m plot.

The SEIAA had, however, deliberated over the tenement density of 1,187 houses per hectare before granting environment clearance.

At Century Mills, MHADA has proposed to build one tower for transit tenements and another to house families of mill workers. The transit building, expected to house 484 tenants, will have three wings – two with 15 floors each and one with 16.

The tower for mill workers will house 1,060 tenants in five wings ranging from 17 to 21 floors. As per MHADA’s estimates submitted to the SEIAA, the Rs 122.85-crore construction is expected to accommodate 7,720 residents.

Besides the work at Century Mills, MHADA also plans to start construction of houses for mill workers at Jubilee Mills near Sewri, Prakash Cotton Mills in Parel, Western India Mills in Lalbaug and Poddar Mills in Chinchpokli.

“We have received the intimation of disapproval to start work at Jubilee Mills and Poddar Mills, and are preparing to commence construction shortly. We are also in the process to get approvals for the rest of the mill land construction projects,” a MHADA official said.

Several mill plots, majorly concentrated in central Mumbai, were leased out over 100 years ago for a paltry sum. As the mills were declared sick following the textile workers strike, the government, in the 1990s, decided to sell the land to make way for luxury apartments, commercial complexes and malls.

The state had decided to allot houses to mill workers on the housing board’s share of this land at a highly subsidised rate through a lottery. Accordingly, MHADA conducted the first phase of the draw in 2012 for 6,925 houses on 19 of the 58 erstwhile mill lands in Mumbai with 43,099 applicants vying for the houses.
manasi.phadke@expressindia.com