Worli’s BDD Chawl Redevelopment: Mumbai’s Bold Leap from Heritage to High-Rise Living

Source: Hindustan Times

When Hindustan Times recently carried an insightful feature on the transformation of Worli’s century-old BDD Chawls, it wasn’t just another redevelopment story, it was a glimpse into Mumbai’s evolving identity. Reading through the piece, one couldn’t help but see how a city once built on shared balconies and common corridors is now finding new ways to live, connect, and coexist.

As a blogger tracking India’s urban metamorphosis, I, Shyam Singh, see this project as more than a construction success, it’s a social experiment done right. The redevelopment, led by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) under the stewardship of IAS Sanjeev Jaiswal, is a thoughtful bridge between heritage and modernity. It’s a story of inclusion, aspiration, and policy working in tandem, a rare blend in India’s complex housing narrative.

The New Address of Aspiration

A single glance at the new Worli skyline tells the story of ambition. Thirty-three 40-storey towers now rise where century-old chawls once stood. When Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar handed over keys to 556 families on August 14, it wasn’t just an inauguration, it was an invitation to the future.

Fiza Shaikh, 25, an assistant professor at the M H Saboo Siddik College of Engineering, never envisioned sharing a view of the Arabian Sea with affluent Mumbaikars residing at Worli Seaface. After moving to the city from Pune a month ago, Shaikh was determined to find a house not too far from her workplace in Byculla. She came upon the present address – the redeveloped BDD Chawls at Worli, a kilometers away from the billionaires’ bay -- through a Facebook post. With three flatmates to share the 2BHK apartment, the shared monthly rent of ₹72,000 does not burn a hole in anyone’s pocket.

“The Worli Metro station gives us easy access to the airport as well as south Mumbai, while all the convenience stores and cafes are close by,” said Shaikh.

Her story reflects the changing aspirations of Mumbai’s young workforce, mobility, access, and community without compromise. For many professionals, the redeveloped chawls offer what few neighbourhoods in South-Central Mumbai can: affordability in a premium location.

From Shared Toilets to Smart Living

She was one of the many residents of chawls, built by the Bombay Development Department (BDD) in the early 1920s. The 207 three-floor homes were spread across 93 acres in Naigaon, Sewri, Lower Parel and Worli. Each floor had 20 rooms of 160-square feet each, with a distinctive common gallery, and a set of six common toilets -- three each for men and women.

In March 2016, the state government had appointed the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) to redevelop Mumbai’s chawls, and in 2018, the project was floated at a cost of ₹16,000 crore. It included redeveloping 121 chawls in Worli, 42 in Naigaon, 32 in NM Joshi Marg and 12 in Sewri. The residents of the demolished chawls in Worli were moved to transit camps near the Century Bazaar.

On August 14, when two of the 33 40-storeyed buildings were ready to welcome their owners, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar handed over the keys of the new flats to 556 families.

These numbers, while administrative, carry deep social meaning. The shift from 160-square-foot rooms to 2BHK apartments is not just an architectural upgrade, it’s an act of social renewal.

A New World in Old Neighbourhoods

Two months since the redeveloped D- and E-Wings of the towers which stand where the nearly 100-year-old bustling chawls once existed, the corridors are abuzz with handymen. The gentrified space has both original residents of the chawls and tenants. Therefore, some homes are stacked with old furniture and make-shift temples, while minimalism is the choice for others who veer towards Ikea furnishings and use food delivery platforms for unparalleled convenience – evidenced by delivery bags being repurposed as garbage bags at their doors.

Ansari’s 40-year-old grand-nephew, Abdul Quddus, thought it wise to relocate his grandaunt, as he believes, “These new flats are not like the chawls we lived in. The front doors of all the homes are shut. If something happens to nani, who can she call for help?” While they welcome their now upscale address, they miss the “open-door culture” that defined chawls.

For the young workforce stepping into the city, the redeveloped chawls help in ease of living. As 21-year-old Akashi Agarwal said: “A modern house for this kind of rent at this location is a dream.” She moved from Bengaluru a month ago to pursue a masters in luxury brand management at the Istituto Marangoni, a fashion and design college in Worli, and shares the apartment with a classmate. They split a rent of ₹70,000 and have taken appliances and furniture on rent for “just” ₹8,000 for six months.

Agarwal and Shaikh are just two of the 24 tenants that Nilesh Tatya Humraskar, 41, a broker, has found places to rent in the two towers in the past month. “Since then at least 30 families have approached me for flats to rent,” said Humraskar. Most of them are young professionals employed in banking and finance sectors, academics, doctors, chartered accountants and students.

This migration of talent and opportunity reflects a quiet truth: urban redevelopment, when inclusive, doesn’t displace, it diversifies.

New Culture, Same Heart

Mahesh Gaikar, who runs a driving school in Worli and spent his 48 years in and around the BDD Chawls, feels the new homes are not spacious enough to accommodate all members of his large family. “Instead of bickering over who gets how much, it is simpler to rent out the flat and split the income,” said Gaikar.

Ayesha Shetty, 26, however is happy with the change in her living conditions. “It’s different, as it should be,” said Shetty, who grew up in the chawl. The assistant manager at HDFC Bank said her family is happy to emerge “from the past chaotic phase”. While she spots a few old faces in the neighbourhood, she said her father “is eager to befriend the young tenants driven by curiosity”.

This intergenerational empathy, where one side recalls community festivals and the other celebrates convenience, is what defines modern Mumbai. The towers are no longer just vertical housing; they’re vertical societies, learning to coexist in a new rhythm.

A Blueprint for Urban India

Bajrang Kale, who has been living in the chawls since the 1990s, pointed out that “while there was unity among members of a chawl, who celebrated festivals together, now a new culture has dawned upon us, with people from various backgrounds and communities moving in here.”

He expressed optimism about the lobby area being used someday for celebrations by members of the mixed communities. “Once every one shifts, we can set up tables and have food catered during functions,” he said, hoping that a temple, mosque and a church will be set up in the open spaces around the buildings, “as discussed with the architects and officials from MHADA.”

Amid the changing landscape of Worli, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) G-West ward corporator, Datta Narvankar, said, “The two towers are just the first phase of redevelopment. Five more phases will follow. We will bring back the old chawl residents in the new buildings. We will also build places of worship for people following disparate religions.”

Kiran Mane, the general secretary of Akhil BDD Chawl Bhadekaru Hakk Sarankshan Samiti, said, “There is a major change in the culture and lifestyles of the new residents. The original chawl residents lived a certain lifestyle but the younger generations are better educated, and have their own ways.”

A Vision Beyond the Towers

This transformation is not just a construction success, it’s a social one. The Worli BDD Chawl redevelopment shows how Mumbai’s housing future can be built on inclusion, aspiration, and respect for history. What Hindustan Times reported as a housing milestone is, in essence, a living case study in coexistence.

As Mumbai continues to grow vertically, Worli’s new skyline stands as a reminder: when policy is driven by empathy and executed with integrity, transformation becomes not just possible, but beautiful.