The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) has decided to carry out the cluster redevelopment of Pratiksha Nagar in Sion on its own, rather than handing over the project to a private developer, retaining control of the 25-hectare layout and the additional housing stock generated by the redevelopment.
According to officials familiar with the developments, Pratiksha Nagar would be renovated under the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) paradigm for the first time by the housing authority. Mhada will remain in charge of the project and employ a contractor to build the buildings for a predetermined sum.
This represents a shift from the Construction & Development Agency (C&DA) approach, which was employed for some of Mhada’s largest reconstruction projects and involved handing over a plot to a private developer. The developer would finance and carry out the project, giving some flats to Mhada for its affordable housing lottery drawings but keeping the remainder of the homes to sell for profit. C&DA projects have already been awarded for renovation of Mhada layouts such as Motilal Nagar, Abhyudaya Nagar, Bandra Reclamation, Adarsh Nagar in Worli, and GTB Nagar.
Mhada will keep the additional housing stock for future affordable housing sales by completing the Pratiksha Nagar redevelopment project on its own. The layout covers roughly 25 hectares and includes 216 structures with approximately 10,000 residential units. Over the last few decades, 90 buildings have been designated as transit accommodation, with the remaining structures housing beneficiaries selected through numerous lottery drawings.
According to the concept, the initial phase of the cluster rehabilitation would concentrate on unsafe and dilapidated structures. Most of these are transit camps, some of which have been in operation for decades. The transit camps are currently home to around 5,508 inhabitants.
Mhada is also considering accepting unauthorized families residing in these camps as part of the rehabilitation. According to a top Mhada official, families who have been recognized as encroachers will be given with temporary housing until their cases are resolved in court.
“In the next few days, a proposal on the EPC model will be sent to the state housing department for approval,” the person said.
In March, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis declared that Mhada would undertake the redevelopment of Pratiksha Nagar as part of the cluster redevelopment program. According to the Mhada official, the authority prefers cluster redevelopment over allowing individual buildings and housing societies to reconstruct separately since it allows for the planning of common amenities and infrastructure across the layout.
The measure also aims to increase housing stock, as Mhada currently has limited available land in Mumbai on which to build new cheap dwellings. The additional dwellings created by the renovation will thus be available for future sale.
Buildings built 15 years ago are excluded from the cluster redevelopment plan since they are considered fit for habitation and do not need to be demolished right away.
The project timeframe has not yet been finalized because administrative approvals are pending and the bidding procedure has yet to commence.
Stay informed with IndexTap for the latest updates on Mumbai’s infrastructure and real estate developments
