BDD Chawl residents get new houses, CM says hold on to them like gold

Mumbai, Aug 14 (PTI) As over 550 families got possession of new flats under the BDD Chawl redevelopment project in the city, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday urged them to hold on to their new houses "like gold" and not to sell them off.

Speaking at an event where he handed over keys of new houses to 556 eligible residents, Fadnavis noted that the Bombay Development Directorate Chawl or tenements in central Mumbai's Worli was not just a bunch of low-cost housing units but a witness to Mumbai's social and economic transformation.

Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, and deputy chairperson of legislative council Neelam Gorhe were present at the event besides Shiv Sena (UBT) MLCs Sachin Ahir and Sunil Shinde. Local MLA and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray, however, skipped the event.

Speaking at another event, Fadnavis announced that the famous dabbawallas or tiffin carriers of Mumbai will get 500 square feet houses for Rs 25.50 lakh each.

The Worli BDD Chawl redevelopment project was executed by government housing agency MHADA in collaboration with Tata Projects and Capacit'e Infraprojects.

The aging and dilapidated structures built over a century ago have been now replaced by 33 high-rise towers of 40 floors each, housing 2BHK apartments with a 500 square feet carpet area.

Recalling the hurdles faced while undertaking the redevelopment project, which turned single-room houses of Marathi-speaking mill and factory workers into modern homes in high-rises, Fadnavis said there were litigations going back 90 years.

A major hurdle, he pointed out, was the expectation that a real estate developer will redevelop the BDD Chawls. Various real estate developers presented four or five plans, but they were only interested in saleable area, the chief minister said.

In his first term as chief minister (2014-2019), the state government decided that state-run Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) will manage the redevelopment of the Chawls, he said.

The ground-breaking ceremony of the mega project was held on April 22, 2017, Fadnavis recalled.

"Earlier, gold would be passed on to the next generation. The (property) rates in Mumbai are equal to the price of gold. It is this house that we need to give to the future generation," Fadnavis told the new home owners.

Ajit Pawar urged Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde, who holds urban development and housing portfolios, to add a clause in agreement to ensure the residents are not able to sell the new houses for 10-15 years.

This way `Marathi manoos' (native Marathi speakers) will stay put in Mumbai, Pawar said.

Deputy Chief Minister Shinde said the dream of hundreds of families who were staying in the Chawls for the last three-four generations has come true due to the successful execution of the project. PTI PR RSY KRK