The Bhendi Bazaar Upliftment Project is aimed at positively impacting the lives and livelihoods of people and upgrading the dilapidated infrastructures of Bhendi Bazaar.
This project is providing a blueprint for the Urban Renewal projects in Maharashtra and rejuvenating congested areas of Mumbai like Dharavi.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis attended a ceremony for the launch of the phase two of Bhendi Bazaar redevelopment.
He assured the Saifee Burhani Upliftment Trust (SBUT) of complete support of the government towards the completion of the project.
The trust laid the foundation stone for the development of Sector 4, as part of the second phase of redevelopment project. The ceremony was presided over by His Holiness Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, the leader of the Dawoodi Bohra community.
Fadnavis in his address said, “The Bhendi Bazaar Upliftment Project is aimed at positively impacting the lives and livelihoods of people and upgrading the dilapidated infrastructures of Bhendi Bazaar. This project is providing a blueprint for the urban renewal projects in Maharashtra and rejuvenating congested areas of Mumbai like Dharavi.”
He further added, “We all talk about transformation, but this project has gone beyond transformation to provide quality living spaces to the people by building a smart city. Even the transit facilities are well organised and something for the government to replicate as well. I assure you the full support of our government towards the completion of the project.”
Earlier in August 2022, the project was stalled as the Deputy Chief Minister announced for a probe by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) into the redevelopment project on the ground that the original sanctioned plans were altered by SBUT.
However, in November the civic body revoked the notice and gave a clean chit to the project.
The Bhendi Bazaar Redevelopment Project
The redevelopment effort involves the transformation of a south Mumbai neighbourhood. Bhendi Bazaar has been one of the several iconic localities with historic richness for the city of Mumbai dating back to the 1900s.
The settlement is filled with dense markets and residential structures that have suffered from years of inadequate infrastructure and maintenance.
The project involves rehabilitating 3,200 families and 1,250 shops across 16.5 acres. This includes bringing down more than 250 dilapidated buildings that stand unsafe for basic living conditions.
The area will be rebuilt with 13 new buildings, wide roads, planned commercial areas, open spaces and social amenities.
The total project cost is over Rs 4,000 crore.
Giving a facelift to the present condition of Bhendi Bazaar, the SBUT, a public charitable trust, took up the project. The project implementation has been envisioned to transform the haphazard dense environment into a holistic modern space for the citizens and the city.
The entire project is divided into two phases. It is further subdivided into nine sectors for better management and functionality. Phase one had two towers which are already constructed and occupied and phase two will have four towers.
Under the second phase, Sector 4 named ‘An-Nasr’ covers approximately 1.5 acre of the overall 16.5 acre of land undertaken for redevelopment. The area will house nearly 1,400 residential units and over 375 commercial setups.
For the renewal, 74 dilapidated buildings will be demolished and replaced by two new towers of 53 and 54 floors each.
The second phase also includes the Sector 6, namely Al-Ezz, which is also under construction.
In 2020, the first phase of the project was completed which helped uplift over 610 families and 128 businesses.
These families were provided secured homes and commercial spaces in the newly built towers. The redevelopment also allowed planned space to provide retail establishments to roadside vendors.
The area has been provided with various social amenities such as a gymnasium, a community hall and toddler parks.
Additionally, this renewal proposed the widening of roads to maximum 18 m, with improved infrastructure for pedestrians and vehicular movement.
The earlier congested area with irregular spatial arrangements, will have a defined parking space to accommodate approximately 3,500 cars in the future.
This has been one of the largest cluster redevelopment projects which has reimagined the dense chawl settlements into a modern sustainable model settlement in the city.
The breakthroughs and success of this important project serve as a model for the emerging Dharavi redevelopment project in Mumbai.
Once in its entirety, Mumbai’s urban regeneration efforts will cater to the demands of its expanding economy and open up new opportunities for growth.