26.12.12

Bhendi Bazaar makeover update


Work on the ambitious Bhendi Bazaar cluster redevelopment project has come to a halt with shopkeepers and residents obtaining stay orders against the project, claiming that there is no clarity on which new buildings they would be allotted space in and how big it would be.
Work on the project started only three months ago, with the Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust, which is developing the Rs 2,900-crore project spread over 16.5 acres,marking six buildings for demolition. However, only two buildings were partially pulled down while work on the other buildings has now been stopped. Shopkeepers and residents have formed a Project Affected Committee, objecting to the demolitions. The locals had earlier given their consent to the project.
They approached the Mumbai Building Repairs and Reconstruction Board (MBRRB) that had sanctioned the project and opposed the demolition.
The SBUT has been able to bring down only two building, Mohamedi and Tankiwala, where the upper floors have been demolished while shops continue to operate from the ground floors. Dissenting residents have now stalled the demolition of at least three buildings — Phoolwala, Tajbhai Moon Manzil, and Ebrahim Nuruddin Chawl.
Shopkeepers are protesting on the grounds that while residents have been promised 350 square feet apartments in lieu of their 300 sq ft houses, shopkeepers have not been promised any extra space in the new project. And while residents have been accommodated in transit camps in Mazgaon, shop owners are only being given a nominal rent to compensate for the disruption.
“To begin with, it does not look like the project will get done in the next three years,” said a committee member speaking on behalf of the shopkeepers. “The SBUT has offered us Rs 140 per sq ft per month as rent. This is too little for us to rent a shop in the locality. We are unable to carry on with our business and have asked for higher rents so that we are at least able to make ends meet till the development is complete.”
Abbas Master, CEO, SBUT admitted that work has been stalled. “Before beginning the demolition we had called all the shopkeepers and given a detailed presentation about the project, so the question of lack of clarity should not arise. We have categorically stated that new shops would be allotted in the same cluster. Residents would get houses either in the same cluster or a neighbouring one,” he said.
Master added that a handful of shopkeepers were trying to arm-twist the SBUT. “Our studies had revealed that rents for shops are around Rs 75-90 per square feet per month. We are offering much more than that. But a handful of shopkeepers want more.If we allow unfair hikes and give in to their demands,the project’s viability will suffer.” Master added that even though no stay order has come from any authority they have voluntarily stopped the project. “This is a project for the people. We want the issues to be sorted out before we resume work. Meanwhile, we are getting permissions from various government agencies,” he concluded.
The project, which was announced in 2009 with the aim of decongesting the area, involves the construction of 249 buildings that will have 3,200 houses and 1,200 shops.

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