The Patra Chawl redevelopment case is a sordid saga of greed, corruption and betrayal that is being played out in hundreds of ageing housing societies across the city. These British-era barracks spread over 47 acres in Goregaon (W) house 672 residents who opted for redevelopment and moved out of their 265-sq-ft tenements in 2007, hoping to get homes twice the size in three years. Fourteen years later, their flats are yet to be built and the builder has stopped paying them the rent. However, the sale component – three 24-storey towers
– is ready. Int he interim, 200of the Patra Chawl tenement owners have expired. Strangely, the Real Estate Regulation Act (RERA) does not protect the original tenants in such projects. The residents blame their own managing committee members who sold them to the builder, the venal system and meddling politicians. Last week, the CM re-launched the redevelopment process and promised that they would get their houses in three years. The inauguration took place in the presence of top MVA leaders such as NCP chief Sharad Pawar, finance minister Ajit Pawar, revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat and housing minister Jitendra Awhad.
In 2007, the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority(MHADA) gave the redevelopment contract of Patra Chawl to Guruashish Developers – a subsidiary of HDIL – whose promoters are Sarang and Rakesh Wadhwan. Guruashish was also supposed to hand over 306 additional tenements to MHADA for distribution…
