Mumbai: The Maharashtra Housing & Area Development Authority (MHADA) has proposed to the state government three big ticket redevelopment projects in Mumbai, which will give a huge boost to the real estate industry in the metropolis. The housing body has suggested the cluster redevelopment of Abhyudaya Nagar at Kalachowkie, Adarsh Nagar in Worli and the Bandra Reclamation layout.

Sources in the MHADA told the FPJ on Thursday that a detailed note in this regard had been sent to the housing ministry in Mantralaya, which is under Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The MHADA has suggested that tenders be floated for the redevelopment of these areas, which are on its land. After the government’s decision on the redevelopment of Dharavi, these three mega projects also are likely to be pushed through.

Fadnavis wanted to implement the project soon

Sources in Mantralaya said Fadnavis was on a mission mode and wanted to cut red tape to ensure that long-delayed projects would be implemented soon.

Former Minister for Housing Jitendra Awhad told the FPJ that he had earlier objected to the individual development of these buildings, since it would be difficult to provide proper infrastructure facilities in terms of water supply, drainage, recreational facilities etc.

“I had proposed cluster development of these colonies so that infrastructure could be upgraded uniformly. However, there was no consensus in the government. In the case of Abhyudaya Nagar, the federation of housing societies of the lower-middle-class colony did float tenders and decided to award the contract to Keystone Reality of the Rustomjee Group.”

Project didn’t take off because of Rs 180 crore stamp duty

However, the proposal did not take off since the state government insisted on the payment of stamp duty of over Rs 180 crore. Awhad said, “I had proposed that the stamp duty be recovered in instalments till Keystone completed the project. However, my suggestion did not find favour with the then government.”

Since the project did not go beyond the drawing board stage, the MHADA has decided to undertake the redevelopment of the colony, which is spread over 30 acres. In the case of the six-acre Adarsh Nagar, a few buildings did start redevelopment, but the rest could not.

Raghavan Sarathy, an advocate and former resident of the colony said, “Building No. 17 has been redeveloped. Building No. 41 is under redevelopment. The rest of the buildings remain as they are. There is also objection from the Indian Coast Guard, which has its establishment nearby.”

Big players are eyeing Bandra Reclamation proposal development project

Big players in the real estate market who have already got wind of the MHADA’s proposal, are, however, eyeing the Bandra Reclamation proposal development project near Lilavati Hospital, where real estate prices are in the region of Rs 65,000 per sq ft to Rs 80,000 sq ft.

Two buildings in the area, Akshay and Safal, have already started redevelopment. Indications are that other buildings will not receive NOCs from the MHADA since the entire area will be redeveloped. A few local residents did initiate the process for redevelopment of buildings in Phases I and II. But now, their efforts will be in vain in the backdrop of the MHADA’s mega move.

An additional incentive may be given for the Bandra Reclamation project, since the MHADA is likely to get a higher premium. Meanwhile, the K Raheja group has bagged the tender for the redevelopment of Sea King apartments near Shah Rukh Khan’s bungalow, Mannat, in Bandra west. Several top builders like Wadhwa, Dilip Thakkar, Supreme and the Lotus Group’s Anand Pandit had participated in the first bid for the redevelopment of this seafacing multi-storeyed building.

However, the proposal did not go through due to certain technical reasons. Later, the society, which houses celebrities like actor Zarina Wahab, floated a fresh tender and recently signed a redevelopment agreement with K Raheja. Each member of the society will receive 48 per cent of their present area free of cost, apart from a large corpus and state-of-the-art recreational facilities.