Why Do Mumbai Chawl Residents Want To Redevelop Property On Their Own?

Observing that the "inhabitants live in unhygienic conditions and pose a threat to the public health at large", the Bombay High Court told the Maharashtra government to speed up the re-development work of the Bombay Development Directorate (BDD) chawls. The Maharashtra Housing Area Development Authority (Mhada), the agency tasked with the work, did all it could but neither the developers nor the residents are happy with the speed at which the work is progressing. While developers frown at the red-tape in seeking government approvals, residents are wary of letting go of the prime real estate – even temporarily — on which their dilapidated homes lie.

According to recent media reports, a section of the BDD chawl residents is firm that they want to go ahead with the re-development work on their own.

Why is that so? 

The 16,000-odd BBD tenements that mostly house government servants and police personnel are over 90 years old and are crumbling from corners. The land at which these tenements exists is worth crores because they lie in the central parts of Mumbai, including Worli, Naigaon and Lower Parel.

Under the plan, authorities are shifting the residents to suburbs to carry out the renovation work. This has a huge bearing on the finances of the residents. Unlike Delhi, where a Ring Road network makes it easier to travel the length and breadth of the city, Mumbai's geography does not permit so. Traveling from one part to another takes comparatively more time.

Now, those who live in Mumbai chawls are people from the low-income group who are employed in the nearby government offices. Shifting to another location would not only cost them more money in commuting but also more time. This, to a large extent, explains the unwillingness of the residents to move to better rented accommodations, even temporarily.

It has to be noted that Mhada does not require residents' consent to carry out the redevelopment work, and that has emerged as a sour point between the two parties. Engaging the residents in the process would have been a better idea for faster implementation of the process.