BDD Chawls residents say MHADA won’t be allowed to redevelop their houses
‘Can’t trust the agency, no guarantee we’ll get the houses back after we shift to transit camps’.
Barely five days after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that a “final decision” had been taken on the redevelopment of BDD Chawls in Worli, and that the MHADA will be the implementing agency, the residents have opposed the move, saying they didn’t “trust” MHADA.
The residents said that there was “no guarantee” they would get their homes back, once they move into the MHADA transit camps. Raju Waghmare, general secretary of the Akhil BDD Chawl Bhadekaru Mahasangh, said, “We know how MHADA functions. It will hire contractors for redevelopment, who will construct absolutely unliveable transit camps. Once we move there, there is no guarantee that we will get our houses back. We don’t want MHADA’s involvement in our chawls.”
Kiran Mane, secretary of another resident association – the Akhil BDD Chawl Bhadekaru Hakk Sanrakshan Samiti – said, “The government cannot ignore our concerns and start the project. Our demand is simple: let all resident associations of BDD Chawls redevelop the area.”
Mane said that the government should appoint a committee headed by the chief minister to allow the residents to create a township in place of the chawls. “We need basic amenities such as drainage, sewerage, water pipelines, schools, and hospital. The CM can supervise the redevelopment,” he said.
The MHADA officials were not available for comment, while Fadnavis had earlier said that the final Cabinet nod for the redevelopment of BDD Chawls will be submitted to the State Cabinet by the end of January.
Barely five days after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that a “final decision” had been taken on the redevelopment of BDD Chawls in Worli, and that the MHADA will be the implementing agency, the residents have opposed the move, saying they didn’t “trust” MHADA.
The residents said that there was “no guarantee” they would get their homes back, once they move into the MHADA transit camps. Raju Waghmare, general secretary of the Akhil BDD Chawl Bhadekaru Mahasangh, said, “We know how MHADA functions. It will hire contractors for redevelopment, who will construct absolutely unliveable transit camps. Once we move there, there is no guarantee that we will get our houses back. We don’t want MHADA’s involvement in our chawls.”
More than 15,000 families reside in 207 chawls that comprise the BDD Chawls, spread over 93 acres near Jambori Maidan. Most of the buildings are more than 100 years old, and in a dilapidated condition. The redevelopment of the chawls is pending since 1999. On January 14, Fadnavis had said that MHADA would undertake the redevelopment and there was adequate FSI available.
Kiran Mane, secretary of another resident association – the Akhil BDD Chawl Bhadekaru Hakk Sanrakshan Samiti – said, “The government cannot ignore our concerns and start the project. Our demand is simple: let all resident associations of BDD Chawls redevelop the area.”
Mane said that the government should appoint a committee headed by the chief minister to allow the residents to create a township in place of the chawls. “We need basic amenities such as drainage, sewerage, water pipelines, schools, and hospital. The CM can supervise the redevelopment,” he said.
The MHADA officials were not available for comment, while Fadnavis had earlier said that the final Cabinet nod for the redevelopment of BDD Chawls will be submitted to the State Cabinet by the end of January.
