21 hours ago
After 12 years of wait, GTB Nagar's redevelopment finally set to begin
MUMBAI: After more than a decade of uncertainty, legal disputes, and crumbling promises, a new chapter is finally set to begin for the residents of Guru Tegh Bahadur (GTB) Nagar in Sion. Once a settlement built for Partition refugees, the neighbourhood will now undergo a long-awaited transformation, with the Rustomjee Group's Keystone Realtors bagging the rights to redevelop the 11.20-acre site. After 12 years of wait, GTB Nagar's redevelopment finally set to begin
The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada), which floated the tender under its cluster redevelopment policy, issued a Letter of Acceptance to Keystone Realtors this week. The project involves the redevelopment of 25 buildings and over 1,200 tenements—most of them originally built between 1954 and 1987 to house displaced Punjabi and Sindhi families under the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act.
'Today, a Letter of Acceptance was issued to Keystone Realtors involving 1,200 tenements,' a Mhada official confirmed. The redevelopment, approved under Regulation 33(9), marks the first such project to be executed by Mhada's newly-appointed construction and development agency.
A long wait for change
Over the years, the buildings—many of which were over 60 years old—had fallen into a state of disrepair. Several structures were officially declared dilapidated by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, and some were even demolished between 2019 and 2022 due to safety concerns.
Residents of GTB Nagar, who have spent years living in precarious conditions, will now receive 635 sq ft flats in the new development. While construction is underway, each family will be entitled to a monthly rent of ₹ 20,000. Post possession, Mhada will also provide five years of maintenance support.
The redevelopment plan had been stuck in limbo since 2013, when a handful of buildings signed an agreement with Navi Mumbai-based Lakhani Housing Corporation. However, a lack of consensus, coupled with rounds of litigation and jurisdictional wrangling, led to years of stalemate. A petition in the Bombay High Court had challenged Mhada's jurisdiction over private land, halting the government's plans temporarily. That stay was eventually lifted.
Finally, in February 2024, the state cabinet cleared the way by formally approving Mhada's role as Special Planning Authority and allowing the appointment of a new developer.
The upcoming redevelopment will not only include the 1,200 tenement families but also around 200 slum dwellers living in the vicinity, who are likely to be accommodated in the new housing stock. Mhada, in turn, will gain 25,700 square metres of additional housing area as part of the deal.
Describing the significance of the initiative, Mhada vice chairman and CEO Sanjeev Jaiswal called it a 'historic, pilot project.' He said, 'This is the first redevelopment project to be implemented by Mhada's construction and development agency on private land. Instructions have been issued to prepare a master plan, and a committee of five to seven members from the housing societies will be formed to monitor progress.'
