Mumbai: The Mumbai Building Repairs and Reconstruction Board (MBRRB), a unit of Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), has floated tenders for redeveloping Kamathipura in South Mumbai. In a statement on June 12, the MHADA said that the region, also called the red-light area, is set to be redeveloped under the ‘cluster redevelopment scheme’.

What is the project? According to a statement from the MHADA, 44,000 square meters of land will be made available as part of this project, and the developer will obtain 5.67 lakh square meters of development rights. It is anticipated that 4,500 new housing units will be built on this property.

"The total net plot area of this region is approximately 73,144.84 square meters, and the project will be implemented under the cluster redevelopment scheme for which a tender for the appointment of a Construction and Development Agency for this project has been issued by the Board today," according to the MHADA statement.

The 34-acre Kamathipura neighborhood in South Mumbai has about 943 cess buildings, 6,625 residential, and 1,376 non-residential tenants/residents, for a total of 8,001. According to the statement, the buildings are about a century old, and there are about 800 landowners in the neighborhood.

The MHADA also said that a decision has been made to compensate landowners in the Kamathipura area. For land plots up to 50 square meters, one housing unit of 500 square feet will be provided; for plots between 51 and 100 square meters, two such units will be provided; for plots between 101 and 150 square meters, three units will be provided; for plots between 151 and 200 square meters, four units will be provided; and for every 50 square meters beyond 200 square meters, the landowners will receive one more unit of 500 square feet.

Kamathipura is referred to as Mumbai's red-light district because of the presence of sex workers in the region.