Nirmala Sitharaman Pledges to Accelerate LIC Building Redevelopment in South Mumbai

MUMBAI: The long-pending redevelopment of LIC-owned buildings in South Mumbai, listed as 'dangerous and dilapidated,' has gained momentum after a crucial meeting between cabinet minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi. The meeting, held last Thursday, focused on the concerns of 10,000 affected tenants. A formal letter submitted by the LIC Tenants and Occupants Welfare Association (LTOWA), urging urgent intervention to fast-track redevelopment and ensure the safety of residents, was also presented to the minister.

Hundreds of families continue to live in unsafe conditions in several LIC- and Dena Bank-owned buildings across South Mumbai, many of which are nearly 90 years old. A total of 25 cessed buildings of LIC are under the C1 category, which means they are unfit for habitation. Around 45,000 people pass through these buildings daily, and 10,000 people reside in them. With the monsoon approaching, concerns regarding safety and rehabilitation have intensified.

Lodha has been consistently pursuing the issue for the past four years through coordination with MHADA, LIC, and the central government. During his meeting with Sitharaman, he submitted the memorandum from LTOWA and highlighted the prolonged delays in the redevelopment process, particularly the pending appointment of Project Management Consultants (PMCs) for the buildings. LIC officials had earlier indicated that the PMC appointment and redevelopment process could take up to two years, raising serious safety concerns among tenants, a fact reiterated by LTOWA secretary Ramesh Nirmal Jain in his letter to the finance minister. Jain pointed out that tenants residing in multiple LIC-owned buildings in Mumbai were facing grave risks due to the lack of on-ground progress in redevelopment. He noted that although tenders for PMC appointments had been floated, no concrete action had taken place. Procedural delays, he argued, were unacceptable when human lives were at stake.

“Lodha told us that the finance minister has given instructions to redevelop old buildings as per MHADA rules, and the C1 category (buildings unfit for habitation) should be taken up on priority,” Jain told HT. “LIC issued a tender to appoint a project management consultant in November 2025 for New Badamwadi on Lamington Road and for Angrewadi Chawl in Girgaon on March 13 but a PMC has not been appointed in either. In the monsoon, the condition of these buildings will deteriorate further.”

The letter urged the finance minister to ensure the fast-tracking of the redevelopment process, fair valuation of LIC properties in line with MHADA norms, and immediate invitation of tenders from capable developers. It also demanded that tenant associations be allowed to propose credible developers to accelerate the process. Key demands raised by the tenants’ association and LIC Angrewadi leadership include immediate completion of PMC appointments, provision of interim alternative accommodation as per MHADA norms, suspension of rent for vacated buildings, halting evictions until actual redevelopment begins, and ensuring that every occupant, whether tenant or leaseholder, is guaranteed a home in the redeveloped building without discrimination. The association also requested that no additional financial or legal burden be imposed on tenants during the transition period.

Lodha expressed gratitude to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman for her assurance and conveyed confidence that tenants living in LIC and bank-owned buildings would soon receive justice and housing security. An affected tenant, however, urged the government to formalize the assurance, noting that many such verbal assurances given in the past had come to nothing. “We welcome the move,” he said, “but there should be a gazetted notification on this.”