Mira-Bhayandar’s ageing housing stock is set for a major overhaul as the Maharashtra government moves to introduce a ‘mini cluster’ redevelopment model aimed at unsafe and decades-old buildings across the fast-growing region. The proposal, expected to be placed before senior state leadership for approval, seeks to simplify redevelopment for smaller building groups and accelerate the transition towards safer, denser and more sustainable urban living.
At a recent review meeting in Mumbai, state officials directed the urban development department to prepare an updated proposal enabling clusters of at least five buildings—or plots meeting a minimum built-up threshold—to qualify for incentives under the cluster redevelopment framework. According to officials present, the revised proposal aims to address long-standing obstacles faced by residents living in structures over 30 years old, many of which fall in densely populated pockets that lack temporary relocation spaces. The mini-cluster model, being designed specifically for Mira-Bhayandar, adapts provisions under the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations (UDCPR). These norms allow redevelopment projects to receive performance-linked incentives, including floor space index (FSI) potentially exceeding six based on existing built-up area assessments. A senior planning official said the expanded model would “support phased rehabilitation and improve the viability of redeveloping smaller, older buildings that cannot fit into larger clusters.”
Residents in several pockets of the region have long faced delays in moving to safer housing because standalone redevelopment often becomes financially unviable. In many cases, structures sit within former gram panchayat jurisdictions where older layouts, narrow roads and limited civic amenities further complicate individual redevelopment proposals. Officials noted that following the example of nearby municipal regions, Mira-Bhayandar now aims to reposition redevelopment as a collective, rather than piecemeal, exercise. Urban planners say the shift is significant for a region where unsafe buildings continue to pose risks during monsoon seasons and where rapid population growth has outpaced infrastructure. An expert working with local housing societies said mini-clusters “can unlock safer, well-planned and climate-resilient redevelopment while ensuring residents are not displaced for long durations.”
Alongside the new proposal, the state government has recently approved a broader policy for collective redevelopment of older public housing layouts in Mumbai and its suburbs. This includes plans to modernise large Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) estates, many of which were built over six decades ago and now house thousands of cooperative societies. The government expects the policy to create a substantial stock of affordable and secure housing equipped with modern amenities and improved public spaces. For Mira-Bhayandar, the mini-cluster approach could mark a shift towards more equitable and sustainable redevelopment, enabling neighbourhoods to upgrade infrastructure, reduce building vulnerabilities and move closer to long-term visions of safer, well-serviced and climate-ready urban communities. Officials said the proposal, once approved, would be implemented in phases, with priority given to the most dilapidated and high-risk buildings.
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