The housing authority will get the 8-acre parcel of land for free as part of the Bombay Dyeing mill land's redevelopment; plans to use the parcel of land to construct homes for mill workers
In a windfall for MHADA, the authority is set to get 8 acres of land — estimated to be worth R800-900 crore — in Wadala from the Wadia group as part of the Bombay Dyeing mill land’s redevelopment. The housing authority plans to use the parcel of land to construct nearly 6,000 homes for mill workers and nearly 2,000 transit-housing units.
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Set for a revamp: A patch of the 8-acre plot that will be handed over to MHADA
As per Development Control Rules 58, when mill land goes in for redevelopment, the owner gives one-third of the property to MHADA, one-third to BMC and keeps the rest for himself. MHADA and BMC will, thus, get 8 acres each from the Wadia Group.
N K Sudhanshu, MHADA’s Mumbai board chief officer, told mid-day that they are expecting to get the land in a week. “The final things like change of name in property card, fencing and such works are left. We will be developing homes for mill workers on the land we are going to get here,” he said, adding that MHADA would use an FSI of 3. This means that the 8-acre plot, when developed, will give a constructed area of 24 acres.
A senior official from Wadia group said MHADA was earlier asking for two separate plots in Prabhadevi and Wadala. However, when the company suggested that they could give one big plot in Wadala instead of fragmented plots, MHADA agreed.
Valuation
Prakash Rohira, of Karma realtors, claimed that property prices in Wadala are appreciating. “Without even counting the FSI, if we take a per-square-foot rate of Rs 25,000, the valuation of the plot reaches R800-900 crore,” he said.
The Wadia group also has its own project very close to the area where MHADA will be constructing the mill workers’ flats.
Since MHADA is getting the plot free of cost, it will be charging the mill workers only the construction cost for the flats. A group amongst the mill workers has been demanding free homes from MHADA, but officials from the housing authority said it charges construction cost and sometimes gives a discount on it.
Officialspeak
“We are handing over approximately eight acres each to MCGM and MHADA. The process of handover is currently on,” a Bombay Realty spokesperson told mid-day.