The Maharashtra Cabinet has approved the cluster redevelopment of Ramkrishna Nagar in Khar West, which is one of the oldest MHADA colonies. The decision to redevelop this particular locality was taken on September 22nd, allowing the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority to appoint a developer to redevelop this colony.
This colony was built in the year 1985 and has an area of approximately 25,523.9 sq m. This colony consists of 19 buildings out of which 18 are residential whereas one is an office building. The government has stated that some of the buildings in this colony were in dilapidated and unsafe condition.
Cabinet clears redevelopment of the Khar colony
The redevelopment will bring the existing buildings together under a cluster development plan, with the aim of providing safer homes and improved infrastructure for eligible residents.
Ramkrishna Nagar currently has 234 residential tenements. Eligible residents will be provided rehabilitation homes as part of the project. The colony is located close to Khar railway station and has access to major roads including Swami Vivekanand Road and Linking Road.
The Cabinet has approved the appointment of a developer through MHADA for the redevelopment. However, the developer has not yet been selected, and the project will move through the required process before construction begins.
234 homes to be rehabilitated
A key part of the redevelopment will be the rehabilitation of existing residents. The 234 residential tenements currently form the housing stock in the colony, and eligible occupants will receive homes in the redeveloped project.
The redevelopment is expected to provide residents with larger and safer homes along with improved infrastructure and other amenities.
The rehabilitation component is being taken up alongside the creation of additional housing stock. This means the redevelopment will address the needs of existing residents while also making space for housing that can be offered to the wider public through MHADA.
MHADA to receive housing stock for sale
The redevelopment will also add housing stock that can be offered to the wider market. MHADA is expected to receive approximately 9,000 sq m of housing stock for sale to the general public under the project.
In addition, the housing authority is expected to receive a premium linked to the additional construction area generated through the redevelopment. This gives the project a wider housing-supply component beyond the rehabilitation of existing residents.
The project is therefore not limited to replacing the existing buildings. It will also create additional housing stock on an established urban site in Khar, while allowing MHADA to retain a share of the developed area.
High-powered panel to oversee the project
The Cabinet has also approved the formation of a high-powered committee headed by the Secretary of the Housing Department to help speed up the redevelopment process.
Not all portions of the existing layout will fall within the developer's scope. The plot on which the office building stands has been excluded from the cluster redevelopment. Plot No. 18 is excluded, while three other plots had previously been allotted by MHADA to the Ramkrishna Nagar Cooperative Housing Society on an ownership basis.
The approval adds Ramkrishna Nagar to MHADA’s wider effort to redevelop ageing housing colonies across Mumbai. MHADA is also pursuing cluster redevelopment across several other ageing housing layouts in Mumbai as part of its broader housing programme.
