July 2, 2025: The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) has appointed the Rustomjee Group to undertake the redevelopment of 25 buildings in Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Nagar, Sion Koliwada, Mumbai. The project will rehouse around 1,200 Sindhi refugee families who migrated from Pakistan post-Independence.
MHADA vice president and CEO, Sanjeev Jaiswal, formally handed over the Letter of Intent (LOI) to Rustomjee. Spread across 11.2 acres, the redevelopment will yield 25,700 sq. m. of built-up space for MHADA as housing stock, supported by a permissible Floor Space Index (FSI) of 4.5, inclusive of the fungible area.
Each of the 1,200 eligible families will receive a new 635 sq. ft. home in place of their former units, which were declared unsafe and demolished by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in 2020. Residents had been forced to secure temporary housing independently in the interim.
Although the land is privately owned, MHADA was authorised by the state government to carry out the redevelopment, following persistent appeals by tenant societies. Jaiswal described it as MHADA’s first redevelopment project on private land and a “model initiative”. He has instructed the developer to draft a detailed master plan and prioritise the rehabilitation of all affected families—including 200 slum dwellers.
Boman Irani, Chairman and Managing Director of Keystone Realtors (Rustomjee Group), called the project an honour. “This is not just about construction—it’s about community. We see it as restoring faith and rebuilding lives,” he said.
Originally settled in 1957, the refugee families were allotted homes at subsidised rates, with flats then priced at just Rs 5,380. Property rates in the area now range between Rs 20,000 and Rs 30,000 per sq. ft, reflecting the immense transformation of the locality.
Source: Hindustan Times
