Under pressure from civic groups and pending clearance from the heritage committee, the developer and the five market associations, which represent the 727 licenced units at the Crawford Market, have offered to revise the redevelopment plan.
Market associations are willing to submit fresh plans, but slam parties for playing politics
Under pressure from civic groups and pending clearance from the heritage committee, the developer and the five market associations, which represent the 727 licenced units at the Crawford Market, have offered to revise the redevelopment plan.
The developer, East and West Developers, was appointed by the associations without seeking tenders, under the existing municipal market redevelopment policy. Dwarkanath Sainani, president of the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Mandai Fruitwallahs Association, told DNA that the association had asked the project's architect, GD Sambhare, to revise the plans.
“We expect to get fresh drawings from the architect in a day or two,” he said. “The five market associations will table them before the corporation and the heritage committee after reviewing the new drawings.”
As per the original plan, two high-rises — one with eight storeys and the other with nine — were to come up in an L-shape alongside the existing heritage precinct using a floor space index (FSI) of four. Apart from accommodating the existing licence holders on the ground, first, and second floors, these two buildings would have commercial units on sale, which would be shared between the developer and the BMC.
Citizens’ groups and heritage committee members had expressed reservations over the FSI of four accorded to the project. Sainani said they were considering reducing the heights of the buildings. “The yet-to-be-finalised plan will be designed in a manner that satisfies the need of the licence-holders while adding to the tourism value of the historic market,” he said.
The market association criticised political parties for “playing politics over the redevelopment”. “The market is in a dilapidated condition,” said Sainani. “Many shopkeepers have been here for more than six decades. The market needs to be redeveloped. Politicians are unnecessarily creating a fuss for gaining mileage.”
The private development proposal was first moved by the associations two years ago and has been at the centre of controversy ever since.
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