Now Reading: BMC panel to decide on Rs 1,351-crore Century Mills plot lease
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BMC panel to decide on Rs 1,351-crore Century Mills plot lease
A BMC improvement committee will vote on August 12 on leasing the 23,822 sq m Century Mills plot in Lower Parel to Peddar Realty Ltd for Rs 1,351 crore. Peddar Realty outbid…
The Story in Brief
A BMC improvement committee will vote on August 12 on leasing the 23,822 sq m Century Mills plot in Lower Parel to Peddar Realty Ltd for Rs 1,351 crore. Peddar Realty outbid K Raheja Corp, Keystone Realtors and Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate by just 0.22% over the reserve price of Rs 1,348 crore. The 30-year lease, renewable for another 30 years, demands permanent rehabilitation of 476 mill-worker families living in 23 buildings on the plot, with each family to get a 405 sq ft flat at the developer's cost. The mill shut in 2006.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray has urged the municipal commissioner not to proceed without verifying resident eligibility and demands. The plot, originally leased in 1927 for 28 years to house poorer-class mill employees, has a lease that expired in 1955. The BMC charges Re 1 per sq m annually for open land and buildings under construction for the first 30 years, with future rent set by then-prevailing policy.
The Indian Opinion
The BMC's 30-year lease at Rs 1 per sq m looks like a giveaway until you factor in the forced rehabilitation and the Rs 1,351-crore upfront payment. Aaditya Thackeray is right to demand resident eligibility checks before final approval. The crunch test: does the rehabilitation plan actually resettle all 476 families before Peddar Realty sells a single market-rate flat?
Sources (2): timesofindia.indiatimes.com, timesofindia.indiatimes.com (2)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
