HC asks state to invite fresh bids to revamp century-old site

Girish Utangale, assistant government pleader representing the state and SRA, said, “The court has dismissed the petition and has directed the state government to invite fresh bids for the project. The court has also asked SRA to refund the premium that Lokhandwala Infrastructures had paid and cancel the letter of intent.”

He added that the court gave an eight-week stay for the order to be challenged further.

The century-old Dhobi Ghat is spread over 28,000 sqm, and is a stone’s throw from Mahalaxmi station and race course. The land, valued by real estate experts at Rs 900-1,000 crore, is one of the largest plots available for development in the land-starved island city.

The redevelopment project, which has been in the pipeline for nearly a decade, has been under litigation due to stiff resistance from various factions of the population who are either opposed to the choice of developer or allege that their consent was forged. The revamp will see the metamorphosis of the 1,500-odd slums that have come up in the drying areas into 20-storey plus high-rises, while the heritage washing area will remain untouched.

Earlier, the Bombay High Court had in March directed the SRA to conduct a referendum for the residents to decide if they wanted to go ahead with the current developer for the redevelopment. However, the secret ballot could not establish a clear majority due to a poor turnout as only 631 of the total 1,116 eligible voters turned up to cast their votes.

manasi.phadke@expressindia.com