500 cr Versova redevpt project under HC lens

Mumbai: A mega redevelopment project in Versova worth over Rs 500 crore has come under the scanner of the Bombay high court. 

    Hearing a review petition filed by three residents of the area, a division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice R P Sondurbaldota asked Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) to clarify the built-up area it is entitled to in the project. 
    Aaramnagar in Versova is a society comprising 357 structures with 500 sq ft tenements. The land comprised of army barracks, but was subsequently allotted to the tenants. In 2008, the government permitted redevelopment of the land. Of the 40 acres, redevelopment is permissible on around 16 acres. 
    The project proposes to rehouse the existing tenants in around 257 flats in towers and 100 row houses, each spread over 1,230 sq ft. The developer, East West builders, and Mhada, which owns the land, will be entitled to built-up area on completion of the project. The builder has paid Rs 24 crore towards corpus fund for the society. 
    The first round of litigation was launched by filmmaker Guddu Dhanoa, leading Bollywood cameraman Rakesh Shreshtha, photographer Subi Samuel and three other residents of the area. It was dismissed by the high court in 2010. The petitioners have sought a review of the high court order giving go ahead to the project. 
    Senior advocate Janak Dwarakadas, counsel for the petitioners, claims the project does not have the consent of 70% of the residents. "The agreement between Mhada, the builder and the Aramnagar Tenants' Welfare Association says the area remaining after housing the tenants will be equally divided between Mhada and the builder. The development control regulations clearly say that land should be divided in the ratio of 2:1 in favour of Mhada," said Dwarakadas. He pointed out that while Mhada was entitled to 2 lakh sq ft of land as per the agreement, the government had asked the agency to revise the agreement as it was eligible for an additional 4 lakh sq ft. 
    Advocate G W Mattos, counsel for Mhada, said around 75% tenants have given their consent. He said the area attracted coastal regulation zone norms and a proposal for 2.5 FSI for the project is pending before the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority(MCZMA). 
    The court issued a notice to the MCZMA. The next hearing is scheduled for July 9.