Mumbai: Redevelopment project in Chandanwadi nowhere near completion; tenants locked out since 2016

Incomplete construction work at Bombay Improvement Trust site. Pics/Bipin Kokate

Lockdown or no lockdown, neither makes any difference to the lives of tenants of the Bombay Improvement Trust (BIT) Chawl at Chandanwadi, who have been out of their homes since 2016, following a proposed redevelopment. The tenants said the "terms stated that the project will be completed within three years." But neither have they got their homes back nor the promised monthly rent for the past two years. The chawl is located at Marine Lines, near Chandanwadi crematorium. According to the redevelopment terms, each tenant was to get a corpus of Rs 11,11,000 and a monthly rent of Rs 32,000 till the project is complete. There are a total of 687 tenants, and they said they're promised a 425 sq ft carpet area flat each.

Huge delay

The developer was supposed to complete the project within three years, but five years later, it is nowhere near completion. Friction between tenants, then problems between developers and tenants over a tripartite agreement amongst others, registration rumpus and many other problems has stalled the project. While a court battle rages on, the human cost of this conflict is tremendous. There is a very real danger of some of these tenants tipping over the edge, as they struggle financially and psychologically.

(From left) Tenants J Ranpise, S Shedwaikar, A Gholap, S Kadam and N Chaudhari, at the site of their old homes, at Chandanwadi

Roque Monteiro, a tenant, said his family currently resides at another place in South Mumbai and is just about managing to pay rent in instalments. "We have to curb our lifestyle, even change our food to simpler fare to curtail expenses. It is very tough going."

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‘Tenants are begging'

Another tenant, Jaideep Ranpise said, "I know tenants who are begging and borrowing to survive. Some even sold their jewellery during the crisis. This is a desperate situation and I see people doing simply anything for survival. We need intervention, and fast."

"I know of other tenants whose problems have multiplied during this pandemic, with a sharp decline in income and very few places to take shelter," Ranpise, who is currently living with his brother in South Mumbai, added.

Jane Ribeiro, 63, wept as she spoke to this reporter on the phone. "I have so many debts. I thought I would go to Churchgate station and sit with a placard to draw attention to our plight. People are playing games; are they even human? It is so, so humiliating to ask for food. I need my house. I am staying at a relative's home, but it is tough for them too."

Seby Faleiro, who is living in Kharghar, said he has his own home, "but I have seen the tremendous suffering first hand."

Chetan G, a tenant and chief promoter of the redevelopment project, said "with no rent for the past two years, we tenants have been left in the lurch, there is a lot of agony. The developer wants to move us to an accommodation for the Project Affected People (PAP), which we have not accepted. We have filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court. But, I do not see this resolving soon, and our problems are going to surmount."

Developer speaks

Aatif Yakub, director of Valencia-Mishal Ventures Pvt Ltd -- the developers of the project, said, "We stopped paying the rent two years ago. The problem started with tenants refusing to sign a tripartite agreement in 2019. We then realised that tenants are profiteering from the rent. We offered them a new building at Kandivli to stay till the project gets done, but they refused. We had given them allotment letters for the Kandivli flats, which is very close to the station. They want to live in Vasai-Virar, but not in Kandivli. We had stated this in court as well. The matter is now sub-judice, but we are also hoping for an amicable settlement."

The MP intervenes

Arvind Sawant, Shiv Sena MP from South Mumbai, had on May 24, 2021, written a letter to the then additional municipal commissioner S Jaiswal on the issue. It called the delay "unpardonable." Excerpts from the communication read, "Five years have passed. The developer has failed to pay the rent for more than two years, and construction work stopped three years ago. As mentioned earlier, I had apprehensions regarding this developer, but the MCGM ignored the illegalities and breaches of the agreements by the developer, which is causing a serious threat to the lives of the people, who are starving, [and are struggling] for rent as well as shelter. This panic is further aggrieved in the pandemic." The strongly-worded letter asks for "compassion and a judicious approach to deliver justice."