Buoyed by a string of policy changes at the government and civic levels, the thousands of crumbling buildings in central and South Mumbai are now set for a total transformation through the redevelopment route.
Armed with favourable policies and an encouraging environment, top realty developers are entering the redevelopment fray, giving unprecedented offers and amenities to tenants of old buildings.
The recently cleared 3-FSI policy alone is set to transform the fate of at least 16,000 old buildings in the heart of the city, including the sprawling chawls of the British Improvement Trust (BIT), the British Development Directorate (BDD) and buildings in the Kalbadevi-Charni Road area.
“There are fundamentally two ways any great city undergoes a transformation — either by converting its industrial areas into commercial and residential zones, or by rebuilding its old residential areas into modern living spaces,” says Boman Irani, CMD, Rustomjee Group, who feels that redevelopment has huge potential in the island city.
According to Irani, redevelopment is not only a real-estate phenomena, but also a driver for civic betterment.
As developers are keen on executing redevelopment projects and the government is rolling out incentives, it is the right time for members of housing societies to take the plunge while the going is good.
“From extra FSI and extra living space, to high rents for the transit period and corpus funds for maintenance charges, it’s all being offered to the old tenants. The going is good and the members must go ahead with the decision to redevelop now, instead of waiting for a better deal that may not come,” warns Ramesh Prabhu, chairman, Maharashtra Societies Welfare Association.
