MHADA appoints Rustomjee Group to redevelop 25 buildings in GTB Nagar, home to 1,200 Sindhi refugee families
The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) has appointed the Rustomjee Group to redevelop 25 buildings in Mumbai’s Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar (GTB Nagar), Sion Koliwada. The project aims to rehabilitate 1,200 Sindhi families who migrated to India from Pakistan after Independence.
MHADA vice president and CEO Sanjeev Jaiswal handed over the Letter of Intent (LOI) to the developer.
Spread across 11.20 acres, the redevelopment will generate 25,700 sq. m. of built-up space for MHADA as housing stock, with a permissible Floor Space Index (FSI) of 4.5, including the fungible area.
Under the project, 1,200 families will receive 635 sq. ft. apartments in exchange for their current homes in dilapidated buildings.
The buildings were declared unsafe by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in 2020 and were subsequently demolished. Following this, the affected residents had to seek alternative accommodation on their own, the MHADA said.
The authority said in a statement that, in response to consistent appeals made by the tenant societies, the Maharashtra government approved the redevelopment of the site through MHADA despite the land being privately owned.
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First redevelopment project being executed by MHADA on private land
According to MHADA, a minimum floor space index (FSI) of 4.5 will be available, including fungible area, ensuring each eligible family receives a free home measuring 635 sq ft.
Additionally, MHADA will receive 25,700 square meters of built-up space as housing stock, it said in a statement.
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Jaiswal said that this is the first redevelopment project being executed by MHADA on private land through an appointed construction and development agency.
Jaiswal described the project as a historic and model redevelopment initiative. He directed the agency to prepare a comprehensive master plan and assured close monitoring of the project’s progress. He also emphasised that the rehabilitation of the 1,200 affected families must be given top priority.
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History of refugee families
According to a media report, beginning in 1957, the government settled over 1,200 refugee families in approximately 1,200 apartments across 25 buildings constructed specifically for them.
At the time, each apartment cost around ₹5,380, with a per sq ft rate of ₹14–15. Today, property rates in the locality range between ₹20,000 and ₹30,000 per sq ft. Refugees were allowed to pay in instalments, making homeownership feasible, as reported by Moneycontrol.
Following Partition, the central government decided to rehabilitate several thousand Hindu Punjabis, Sikh Punjabis, and Sindhi refugees who had crossed into India. In Maharashtra, over 30 such colonies were developed, including in Mumbai and Bombay.
Most of these refugees, originally from Pakistan’s Sindh and Punjab provinces, were allotted homes under the Displaced Persons (Compensation and Rehabilitation) Act, 1954.
