September 18, 2025: Tenants of the Century Mills compound in Lower Parel are set to move from their current cramped 180-sq-ft rooms into new 405-sq-ft flats under the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) cluster redevelopment scheme. The civic body has announced plans to invite e-tenders by the end of September for the redevelopment of 476 tenants residing on BMC-owned land.
A civic estate department official confirmed that the plot accommodates 476 tenements and ten shops, while the adjoining portion belongs to Century Mills. Once the mill hands over its share, all 23 buildings within the compound will be redeveloped. “One entire building and some shops remain under Century Mills’ ownership, and these too will be rehabilitated under the cluster model,” the official noted.
The final size of the replacement flats will depend on the redevelopment model chosen by the private developer. “Under cluster redevelopment, the developer may proceed under DCPR 33(23) or DCPR 33(9), both of which apply to old or hazardous structures such as the BDD chawls,” the official explained. The tender process will begin once civic chief and administrator Bhushan Gagrani grants formal approval.
For the tenants—largely former mill workers and their families—the decision marks the end of prolonged uncertainty. Earlier this year, eviction notices were served following a Supreme Court ruling that upheld BMC’s ownership of the 25,000-sq-metre (6.17-acre) plot, currently valued at around ₹660 crore.
Originally leased to Century Spinning and Manufacturing Limited in 1927 for 28 years, the land carried a condition that housing for mill workers be provided. The lease expired in 1955, at which point ownership reverted to the BMC. Although Century Mills won a Bombay High Court ruling in 2017, the Supreme Court overturned the decision in January, enabling the corporation to move forward with redevelopment.
Source: Hindustan Times
