16.6.09

Bhendi Bazaar makeover



As the car ascends the J J flyover and heads towards CST, it’s difficult to miss the chaos on the street below, even if in a fleeting glimpse. To the right is Bhendi Bazaar, one of the most densely populated localities in the city, with creaking buildings standing cheek by jowl and a mass of humanity spilling all around. For any town planner, this is an urban nightmare. Now, one of the biggest-ever redevelopment projects is ready to roll. And spearheading it is no builder but the spiritual head of the one-millionstrong Dawoodi Bohra community, Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin. At an exclusive briefing ,the Dawoodi Bohra headquarters in the Fort area of downtown Mumbai, his representatives said the project, which is expected to cost over Rs 1,500 crore, involves redeveloping 270 buildings and 2,000 commercial establishments spread over 18 acres, almost the size of the Oval Maidan. Over 25,000 people are expected to be rehoused in the new buildings. Interestingly, one lane of the landmark Chor Bazaar also falls under this plan. The trust has submitted a proposal to the state government under the recently introduced cluster redevelopment policy, popularly known as 33(9). The scheme applies to dilapidated cessed properties as well as BMC and state government buildings in the island city. It encourages builders to take up a minimum area of 4,000 sq m (about one acre, which could hold five to six buildings) and offers a higher-than-standard floor space index (FSI) of 4. The 98-year-old Syedna, currently in Germany, initiated the plan recently after witnessing the pathetic living conditions of Bhendi Bazaar’s residents—mainly Muslims of various sects, 80% of whom belong to his community. It will involve 18 acres, 270 buildings, 4,000 homes, 2,000 commercial establishments and 25,000 people. 80% of the project involves rehousing the existing tenants free of cost in brand new buildings. The other 20% will include four residential skyscrapers to be sold at the market rate to recover the project costs . Each rehab building will have one floor dedicated to services, provision for recreational facilities and two basements for parking . Almost 50% of the area will be reserved for open spaces and green areas. There are plans to broaden the narrow roads to up to 60 feet. 50% of bldgs bought, new look in 5 years .
Syedna Mohamed Burhanuddin, the spiritual leader of Dawoodi Bohras, has launched a makeover plan for the dingy, dilapidated buildings that house the community members in Bhendi Bazaar. “The Saifee Burhani Upliftment Project has already bought over 50% of the buildings from the landlords. Once permissions come through, it will take five years to implement the project,’’ said Abdeali Bhanpurawala, executive secretary to the Syedna. In the last three months, representatives of the trust have held public meetings in the area, explaining the benefits of this mega-project. The trust is identifying transit accommodation for the residents. Murtuza Ali Rajkot Wala, a member of the Syedna’s planning team, claimed, “This is going to be a philanthropic project and will be entirely funded by the trust based on a no-profit, no-loss model.’’ According to him, most of the buildings in Bhendi Bazaar are dilapidated and date back to the turn of the last century. “This 18-acre stretch of Bhendi Bazaar is more popularly known as Bohri Mollah. Besides residential buildings, there are restaurants, offices of travel agents, sweet shops, tailoring and electronic shops and a foam mattress market,’’ said Rajkot Wala. Although the state government rule for cluster development stipulates a minimum tenement size of 300 sq ft for each household in the redeveloped building, the Syedna has directed that in his project the minimum size will be fixed at a carpet area of 350 sq ft. Tenements in the existing chawls are barely 150 to 200 sq ft large with common toilets. Currently, the area is serviced by infrastructure that is nearly 100 years old. The existing roads were laid for transportation belonging to an earlier era and can hardly accommodate the volume or size of modern vehicles. The Syedna’s representatives said the idea was not only to provide better homes and roads, but a “milieu that supports human development to its fullest potential’’. Said one, “The residents should flourish socially, physically, mentally, spiritually and economically.’’ So are the residents giving their consent for this project? “There has been no opposition. People ask us for clarifications. But there is no arm-twisting. We are a peaceful community,’’ said Bhanpurawala.

No comments: