Sindhi Colony Redevelopment: 12-Year Wait Ends for Post-Partition Refugees

MUMBAI: The state government has given the final nod to the redevelopment of Sindhi Colony’s 25 buildings, occupied by about 1,200 families, at Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Nagar. On Friday, the housing department issued a government resolution (GR) permitting this. The project is being executed by Keystone Realtors of the Rustomjee Group.

The 11.20-acre land parcel in Central Mumbai contains at least 1,200 tenements which were built for Punjabi and Sindhi refugees between the 1950s and 1960s under the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 1954. Over time, the buildings deteriorated and were declared dilapidated by the BMC.

For the around 1,200 families, it has been a 12-year-long wait replete with obstacles and legal battles. Each of the families will get a 635-square-feet home, and post-revamp, MHADA will provide maintenance fees to the residents for five years. Apart from this, the residents will also receive a rent of ₹20,000 per month until the project’s completion.

As per the tender conditions, MHADA will get 25,700 square metres of area as housing stock, which will be sold through a housing lottery draw. The proposal to appoint a construction and development agency through MHADA to redevelop the colony under Regulation 33(9) was approved in the state cabinet meeting held on February 14, 2024. Thereafter, MHADA was appointed as a Special Planning Authority, which was challenged by the residents in the Bombay high court.

It was contended that MHADA lacked jurisdiction and that the proposed redevelopment would nullify existing agreements entered into independently, as the residents had roped in another builder for the redevelopment. The Bombay high court had temporarily halted the government’s redevelopment plan, citing concerns about jurisdictional authority and legality, but the stay was lifted later. Several structures were razed between 2019 and 2022 as they were labelled dangerous and dilapidated.

Similar approvals are now pending for two other important projects—Kamathipura and Abhyudaya Nagar. All three projects under the cluster redevelopment scheme are being promoted by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA). The cluster redevelopment projects of Abhyudaya Nagar and Kamathipura, which are awaiting government permission, had several builders lined up: Oberoi Realty, Mahindra Lifespace and MGN Agro put in quotations for Abhyudaya, whereas AATK Constructions and J. Kumar Infraprojects participated in the Kamathipura bidding process. MHADA has finalised Oberoi Realty and AATK Constructions for the projects and sent the same to the state government for further approvals.