MHADA clears 40-storey twin towers at Byculla in Mumbai

The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) has approved two 40-storey residential towers at Dagdi Chawl in Byculla in the metropolitan city. The site is all set to be redeveloped and make way for the construction of 450 sq ft apartments in the high-rises. The chawl, which was once a housing facility for workers employed in the nearby textile mills, currently has more than 350 tenants, with 10 four-storey structures. The original tenants of the chawl, who spent their entire lives in their 120 sq ft homes, will get new apartments in the new towers. The proposal for the redevelopment of the cessed buildings has been sent by the landlord and was subsequently approved by the authority. Gawli is the landlord of the property, which was once known as his fortress. According to the chairman of MHADA, Vinod Ghosalkar, the Mumbai Building Repairs and Redevelopment Board has stated that the structures in the chawl compound are more than 100 years old and two of them were in dilapidated conditions. The owner and tenants had come together and submitted a proposal for redevelopment. According to the rule, priority will be given to the owner in the redevelopment plan. While a Letter of Intent (LoI) has been issued for redevelopment, they will choose the builder and the plan will be submitted to BMC. Chawl has been in the limelight since the late 1970s, after Arun Gawli and his brother Pappa Gawli began their criminal activities and the place remained in news due to the frequent police raids, which were conducted to nab the dreaded members of the Gawli gang.