2 days ago
Mumbai's biggest cluster redevelopment project set to take off in Kamathipura
MUMBAI: Kamathipura, one of the oldest neighbourhoods in South Mumbai, is all set for a transformation, as MHADA has floated tenders for a construction and development agency for its redevelopment. Its century-old, cramped and dilapidated structures will now be converted into skyscrapers with all the facilities that a metropolis like Mumbai can offer. It will also be the city's biggest cluster redevelopment scheme spread over 34 acres.
Kamathipura's redevelopment is expected to give a big boost to the real estate market after the ongoing redevelopment of Bhendi Bazaar, also known as Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust (SBUT) project, which covers 16.5 acres.
Divided into a grid of fifteen lanes, Kamathipura encompasses 943 cessed buildings, 349 non-cessed buildings, 14 religious places and two schools run by the BMC. 'They will all be developed in an integrated manner under Regulation 33 (9) of the Development Control and Promotion Regulations 2034 through the Mumbai Building Repairs and Reconstruction Board,' states a note issued by MHADA on Thursday. Regulation 33 (9) involves redeveloping a group of buildings, often located on contiguous plots.
The state government approved the Kamathipura project on January 12, 2023, following which Mahimtura Consultants was appointed as the project management consultant (PMC) through a tendering process. Under the project, the residents will receive larger homes along with well-planned infrastructure and facilities. The project will also have commercial buildings as the builder's profit share.
'The project will make available 44,000 square metres of land to MHADA, resulting in a significant increase in housing stock, while the developer will get 5,67,000 square metres to construct around 4,500 new units,' explained a senior MHADA official.
The project will bring a better life for around 8,000 tenants, 6,625 of whom are residential and 1,376 non-residential. Apart from them, there are around 800 landowners who own most of the structures in the area. The owners will get a 500-sq-ft flat against every 539-sq-ft plot. If the size of the plot is 51 sq metres to 100 sq metres, the owner will get two flats measuring 500 sq ft each. For plots ranging between 100 sq metres and 150 sq metres, the owner will get three flats and so on.
Kamathipura is one of the most densely populated areas of Mumbai. It suffered years of stigmatisation owing to its having a red-light area but is now a mixed locality of migrant labourers and working-class and middle-class families. It also has several small-scale industries such as a scrap market, a denim-dyeing industry, leather bag and shoe-making units and zari embroidery units among others.
