Dharavi rehab flats for eligible residents of buildings will now have a minimum effective area of 500 sq ft under the Dharavi Redevelopment Project, after Maharashtra’s urban development department issued a final notification setting out the entitlement.
The decision covers approximately 10,000 tenements located in largely private buildings and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation estate properties, according to a report by the Times of India. A separate category of chawls in Dharavi has another approximately 10,000 tenements, although the notification’s 500-sq-ft provision described in the report concerns eligible occupants of buildings.
The notification has been issued under Regulation 33(9) A of the Development Control and Promotion Regulations, 2034. Under the regulation, each eligible occupant is entitled to a minimum fixed carpet area of 300 sq ft, or 27.88 sq m. The maximum free rehabilitation area is equivalent to the area occupied in the old building, subject to a ceiling of 70 sq m.
For any occupied area above 70 sq m, construction costs will apply, according to the notification as reported. The state’s decision therefore establishes a minimum entitlement while retaining a separate cost provision for rehabilitation claims involving larger occupied areas.
The final area was determined after a review meeting with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Following that meeting, the Dharavi Redevelopment Project was asked to submit a proposal explaining the reasons for a minimum carpet area of 500 sq ft. The government subsequently approved an entitlement structured as 300 sq ft of carpet area plus 35% fungible area.
On that calculation, the combined area of the rehabilitation flat works out to 500 sq ft. The distinction between carpet area and fungible area is significant because the notification specifies that the fungible area will not be available for the sale component. This separates the rehabilitation entitlement from the portion of the redevelopment project intended for sale.
The provision applies to eligible occupants, making eligibility a central part of the rehabilitation process. The report does not provide a detailed list of eligibility criteria or explain how individual claims will be assessed under the final notification. It also does not specify a construction or handover timeline for the affected tenements.
Dharavi’s redevelopment involves multiple existing forms of occupation, including private buildings, BMC estate properties and chawls. The notification’s stated coverage of roughly 10,000 building tenements gives the area decision a substantial housing dimension, while the separate reference to approximately 10,000 chawl tenements indicates that rehabilitation arrangements span more than one built-form category.
The immediate administrative milestone is the state government’s final notification confirming the 300 sq ft carpet area and 35% fungible-area structure. Further implementation details, including the verification of eligible occupants, treatment of chawl residents and the project’s construction schedule, were not provided in the supplied report.
