MUMBAI: One of Mumbai’s prominent slum redevelopment projects – Mata Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar and Kamraj Nagar in Ghatkopar – is raising eyebrows, but for the wrong reasons.
The project marks the debut of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to slum rehabilitation, but the agency has committed to maintaining the 11 buildings under the rehabilitation component for just two years, not ten, as required by the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA).
To be built on 31.83 hectares, the ₹8,498-crore project involves the rehabilitation of 16,575 tenements. Each eligible slum family will receive a one-bedroom apartment of 300sq ft. The developed space will include amenities such as gardens, healthcare centres and educational institutions. It will also include 5,000 apartments to accommodate people impacted by ongoing infrastructure projects.
While the project will be rolled out in two phases, MMRDA invited bids from developers for the first phase, involving 6,144 units, on Thursday.
In February 2024, the SRA had revised the maintenance criteria for slum rehabilitation projects, from three years to ten. This was done after a fire broke out at Unnat Nagar in Goregaon, killing seven people and injuring 62 others, a few months earlier. Safety concerns prompted the SRA to increase the maintenance period from three years to ten. This ensures better quality buildings for the residents.
Even buildings constructed under the Dharavi Redevelopment Project will be maintained by Navbharat Mega Developers, a special purpose vehicle between the Government of Maharashtra and the Adani Group, for ten years.
However, even before the Mata Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar and Kamraj Nagar project literally gets off the ground, the maintenance period is raising concerns. MMRDA documents accessed by Hindustan Times reveal that the developer of this project will need to maintain the buildings under the rehabilitation component for just two years, for the buildings’ upkeep under the “defect liability period” or DLP.
According to the document, the appointed developer “shall complete the work and carry out testing & commissioning within 36 months inclusive of monsoon period + 24 months DLP for contractor’s work”.
“For a developer, DLP is not a big deal. The buildings themselves will survive for a few decades; the challenge is always waterproofing. The developer must maintain the buildings for a minimum ten years,” said architect Nitin Killawala.
Failure to properly maintain the buildings is failure to provide dignified housing; they would turn into vertical slums. “Water seepage could become a big issue, which is why a standard norm of ten years should be followed,” said Killawala.
Metropolitan Commissioner Sanjay Mukherjee did not respond to attempts by HT to reach out to him.