The Juhu Wireless Affected Residents Association (JWARA), representing over 20,000 families in the Juhu area of Mumbai, has written to the Mumbai Civic Body, also known as Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), for obtaining redevelopment approvals that have not come through for almost two decades.
This is because they have not yet received the no-objection certificate (NOC) from the defence ministry which has a facility located in the vicinity.
According to residents, their buildings are 40 to 60 years old and require redevelopment. But they are unable to get permission for the same due to restrictions imposed on the buildings for their close proximity to the defence land. This has resulted in redevelopment projects worth around Rs 20,000 crore either getting stuck or unable to take off in the Juhu area of Mumbai.
Why are there no approvals?
According to residents, a notification issued by the Ministry of Defence in 1976 restricted construction in a radius of 457 metres of a wireless station that provides communication infrastructure to defence forces. The notification restricts construction beyond 15.24 metres in the 457 metres radius of the defence installation.
"The notification was issued in 1976 but was not being implemented in the true sense. However, suddenly post-2010, Indian Army started issuing stop-work notices and stopping to give NOCs for redevelopment projects. If the notification was implemented properly these buildings would not have come up in the first place. But today, I am residing in a 35-year-old building that requires redevelopment," said 51-year-old Mukesh Varma, a resident of Juhu.
Said 78-year-old Bhupendra Lakdawala, another resident from the area, "We had written to the BMC to issue us approvals for the redevelopment. But we were asked to get NOC from the Indian Army. When we go to the Army, it says individuals cannot approach them; only authorities can. So, what are we supposed to do and where are we supposed to go?"
"Around five buildings were demolished for redevelopment. But later work was halted due to stop-work notices. Further, one of the buildings recently proposed adding just one floor to its existing height but it did not receive permission for the same. In the last 43 years, we must have repaired our building at least 10 times and spent more than Rs 60 lakh. How long can we go on repairing? If we take up repair work, minimum expenses, considering the inflation, will not be less than Rs 15 lakh. We hope that the state government gets our issue resolved from the Central authorities," added Lakdawala.
Redevelopment worth Rs 20,000 crore stuck
According to the residents, there are around 200 buildings that are facing this plight. Considering a project cost of Rs 100 crore for each building, the redevelopment cost of the 200 buildings spread across 40 acres could go up to Rs 20,000 crore.
Varma added, "We are sitting on redevelopment projects worth Rs 20,000 crore that is stuck or is not able to be taken up due to lack of approvals. As monsoon is approaching, all residents are worried about the structural stability of their buildings. Hence, we request authorities to resolve our difficulties by issuing permissions."
Meanwhile, Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal via a message redirected Moneycontrol to the development plan department of the BMC saying he is not aware of the matter.
A source at the Ministry of Defence not wishing to be named, said, “The restrictions were lifted back in December 2022. However, the lifting of restrictions was rolled back. The issue is being studied at a higher level, and a decision regarding the same will be taken soon.”