All about Mumbai BDD chawl redevelopment

What are Chawls?

Prominent in Maharashtra, a chawl is a one room or two rooms unit that has a long corridor and sharing bathrooms and toilets with other tenants. The layout is such that there are hosuing units on both sides of the corridor and there is huge open courtyard in the middle.

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BDD chawl full form

The BDD chawl full form is the Bombay Development Directorate chawls in Mumbai. The British had constructed the 207 BDD chawls around 1920, as low-cost housing for mill workers, dock workers, civic and other government employees. The BDD chawls are spread over 93 acres and comprise 207 ground-plus-three-storey buildings, having 16,557 flats measuring 160 sq ft.

BDD chawl redevelopment

The Maharashtra government has kicked off the BDD chawl redevelopment process in Mumbai. During the foundation stone-laying ceremony by the then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and NCP chief Sharad Pawar, on August 1, 2021, the government announced redevelopment of Worli’s nearly century-old BDD chawls in phases. The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), will be the nodal agency for the redevelopment project.

This BDD chawl redevelopment will be one of Asia’s largest cluster redevelopment projects that is led by a state government, point out industry experts. To be developed in phases, Tata Projects Limited, Capicit’e Infraprojects Ltd and Citic Group Consortium, secured the Rs 11,744-crore order for the BDD chawl redevelopment at Worli, Mumbai.

BDD chawl Worli redevelopment plan

The BDD chawl redevelopment will take place in two phases. In the first phase, 23 buildings in Plot B will be redeveloped and in the second phase, 19 buildings in Plot A will be redeveloped. According to the proposed BDD chawl redevelopment plan approved by the planning authority cell of MHADA, three basement plus stilt plus 22 storey buildings will be constructed to rehabilitate the residents. MHADA has started with the Worli BDD chawl redevelopment project by demolishing the first building. A total of 42 buildings are here. Construction of a new building on the site will start as soon the demolition is complete.

Reports suggest that according to the BDD chawl Worli redevelopment plan for the 195 chawls on the 34.05 hectares of government land in Worli, eligible unit holders will be given 500 sq ft units free of cost on ownership basis. In the Worli BDD chawl redevelopment, housing units of 269 sq ft each will be given to slum dwellers. More than 1,700 families of police personnel who are living in BDD chawls after their retirement, are also entitled for free housing under the redevelopment scheme. These units will be given from the surplus flats that MHADA has and will not have any impact on units to be given in other categories. Also, the Maharashtra government recently extended the eligibility of free housing in bdd chawl project to people paying rent, as on January 1, 2021.

The Maharashtra state government issued a notification, allowing MHADA to sign new house-sale agreements with BDD chawl tenants. The BDD chawl redevelopment tenants who shifted to transit houses and whose names have been selected in the lottery, will sign the new house-sale agreements. The lottery draw for BDD chawl was held for 272 units in February 2021. This move will help overcome the problem of tenants not backing the redevelopment project.

The Maharashtra cabinet announced that while the housing units at Mumbai’s BDD chawls would be free for eligible residents, the state government would charge Rs 1,000 as the stamp duty and agreement charge per house. This is a respite for the residents of BDD chawls as otherwise, the stamp duty for properties in Maharashtra is 5% of the property’s value.

While BDD Chawls redevelopment spread across Worli, NM Joshi Marg and Naigaon has started, the BDD chawl redevelopment cluster at Sewri is on hold. According to an FPJ report, more than 960 families who are living in 12 dilapidated buildings in BDD Chawls at Sewri, are still waiting for their housing redevelopment project. This is because, even while the Mumbai Port Trust is the owner of the land of Sewri BBD and ready to extend the lease, want of permission from the center to commence the work has put the BDD chawl redevelopment project in this area in the backseat.

See also: Everything about MHADA lottery 2022 Mumbai

BDD chawl redevelopment eligibility forms

You can download the BDD chawl redevelopment eligibility forms from MHADA website at https://www.mhada.gov.in/sites/default/files/MHADA-BDD-Eligibility-Form.pdf

See also: All about PMAY beneficiary list

BDD chawl redevelopment sample flat

The sample flats of the BDD chawl redevelopment is there for people to see and take informed decisions. As part of the BDD chawl redevelopment, the 500 sq ft house is three times the existing BDD chawl unit’s size. Once the BDD chawl redevelopment project is ready, industry experts mention that each ready to move in unit will be worth around Rs 2 crore.

BDD Chawl redevlopment: Ownership of houses to police personnel for Rs 15 lakh

On the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi, the Maharashtra government announced ownership of houses under BDD Chawl to police personnel for Rs 15 lakh. As per the announcement, all the police personnel, working or retired, or the families and legal heirs of the deceased, residing in the BDD Chawls till January 1, 2011, shall be eligible to get 500 square feet houses on ownership basis, on the construction cost of Rs 15 lakh.

As a result of this directive, the state government will incur 70 percent of the losses and MHADA would bear the remaining for the scheme as the homes would be given on permanent ownership basis to the police personnel. This scheme is a welfare measure and aimed at easing the problems of housing for police personnel who stay in the century old BDD Chawl complexes in Worli, Naigaon, and N.M. Joshi Marg.

More about: Flat on rent in Mumbai

BDD Chawl redevelopment latest news

November 17,2022

MHADA announces rehab allotment for BDD Chawl 32,33, 39 and 40 Worli

The rehab allotment for BDD Chawl 32,33, 39 and 40 Worli can be checked online on MHADA website at https://www.mhada.gov.in/sites/default/files/REHAB_ALLOTMENT_FOR_BDD_CHAWL_NO_32_33_39_AND_40_WORLI-dtd-14-11-2022.pdf

September 21, 2022

MHADA conducts lottery for 154 rehabilitation homes at BDD Chawl for police personnel

MHADA on September 20, 2022 drew a lottery through a computer system under the BDD Chawl redevelopment project at the MHADA Bandra (East) headquarters. This was for the 154 rehabilitation homes that will be distributed to eligible police personnel. This is part of the proposed rehabilitation buildings that will be constructed in the first phase.

BDD Chawl’s buildings 1,2,5,12 and 13 located at NM Joshi Marg Parel are under the Police department authority. These have a total of around 182 houses of which 154 units are eligible for lottery. The list of tenants/residents who have been chosen in the proposed resettlement building can be accessed on MHADA website https://mhada.gov.in. Once agreed, a contract will be signed with the respective owners soon.

August 8, 2022

MHADA lottery of 206 houses of BDD Chawls Naigaon held

Of the total 238 units, MHADA lottery lucky draw of 206 houses were held for tenants eligible for houses at the BDD Chawls Naigaon. Held through a computerised system, the tenants of the BDD Chawl lottery were mostly police personnel from building numbers 2B, 3B and 4B. The intention of the MHADA lottery was to inform tenants about the location of their flats in the upcoming tower. MHADA lottery for remaining units will be held in a phased manner.

Know about: Flats in Mumbai

July 22, 2022

Experts oppose BDD chawl redevelopment plan; Propose alternative to Maha CM

Opposing the BDD chawls redevelopment as planned by MHADA, a group of 120 professionals- architects, civil engineers and urban planners have written to the Maharashtra chief minister giving 6 possible recommendations termed as One Possible Alternative (OPA).

According to Indian Express, as part of the OPA, the letter proposed

Not adding any more residential apartment to the existing rehab units to limit densities and control the demand of physical and social infrastructure
Construction of 22-storey buildings for rehabilitation instead of proposed 40-storey buildings
Inclusion of a full-sized cricket-cum-athletics ground
Inclusion of a full-sized football ground according to the plan
Minimal roads and development between the rehabilitation buildings leaving scope for maximum open space; good daylight and cross ventilation for each apartment
No private parking.

In MHADA’s scheme, while the built-up area (BUA) of the proposed redevelopment project is 2,367,000 sqm, the OPA proposes a BUA of 1,022,000 sq m.

According to Shirish Patel, civil engineer and an architect, “Redevelopment as planned by the MHADA will gravely damage the health and the healthy growth of families rehabilitated from the existing BDD Chawls, due to the high density. These buildings will stand for 100 years and the impact on health and healthy living will be felt by the children from these families, and the children of their children. For this, we have come up with ‘One Possible Alternative’.”

Know about: Rent house in Mumbai

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Anuradha Ramamirtham

With 16+ years of experience in various sectors, of which more than ten years in real estate, Anuradha Ramamirtham excels in tracking property trends and simplifying housing-related topics such as Rera, housing lottery, etc. Her diverse background includes roles at Times Property, Tech Target India, Indiantelevision.com and ITNation. Anuradha holds a PG Diploma degree in Journalism from KC College and has done BSc (IT) from SIES. In her leisure time, she enjoys singing and travelling.
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