Uddhav Thackeray, Sharad Pawar to restart stalled Patra chawl redevelopment project

The redevelopment of Patra chawl, spread across 47 acres, has been mired in controversy and 672 tenants of the chawl were left in the lurch.

The project was being executed by the Maharashtra Housing and Regional Development Authority (MHADA) and in 2008, it had given the contract to Guru Ashish Developers, a subsidiary of HDIL, to rehabilitate the 672 tenants. A tripartite agreement was signed between Guruashish Construction Pvt Ltd, the tenants society and MHADA for the redevelopment of 47 acres.

But soon after the award of contract, complaints started coming up against the developer and the project was delayed further. Due to non-payment of rent by the developer to residents, MHADA had issued a termination notice to the developer on January 12, 2018, officials said.

Against this notice, the developer sold his share of the project to nine other developers without MHADA’s permission. The nine developers had then filed a suit in the Bombay High Court. Due to these legalities, the redevelopment project was stalled for the past several years.

In 2020, the state government had appointed a one-member committee of Johnny Joseph, the retired chief secretary of the state government, to study and recommend solutions to generate rent for the 672 tenants deprived of their homes and a plan for their rehabilitation. The committee had then submitted its detailed report to the government in two parts.

Following the recommendations of the committee report and feedback from MHADA, in June 2021, the state cabinet had approved redevelopment of the Patra chawl again and a government resolution in this regard was issued in July 2021.

MHADA will now develop the project and give possession of the flats to the 672 residents. It will also immediately complete remaining work in 306 flats for which a lottery draw was held.

According to officials, MHADA will now work on the entire project as a developer and will provide flats with 650 square feet carpet area to the 672 tenants.

Accordingly, construction of pending flats on R-9 plot for rehabilitation of original 672 members of Patrachawl Housing Society will start after the inauguration on Tuesday.

An official said, “The construction on the R-9 plot where the tenants will be rehabilitated is largely incomplete. Since the construction of the buildings on this plot has been in an incomplete condition for the past four years, a structural inspection was done by VJTI Mumbai and as per its recommendation, a tender was drafted and floated. After the completion of the open tendering procedure, a letter of acceptance has been given to the lowest bidder, M/s Railcon Infra Projects Limited.”