The Maharashtra cabinet has decided to charge Rs 1,000 as stamp duty and agreement cost per house from residents of pre-independence era BDD 'chawls' in Mumbai which are being redeveloped by state-run housing agency MHADA.

The cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, cleared a proposal in this regard, said an official statement. BDD (Bombay Development Directorate) 'chawls' (old row tenements) were developed during the British rule as low-cost housing units and they are now in a dilapidated condition. As many as 207 such chawls were constructed between 1921 and 1925 and they are in prime locations in Mumbai like Worli, Naigaon, NM Joshi Road and Sewri.