Why self redevelopment is fast becoming the 'chosen' path in Mumbai

Self redevelopment is an emerging trend in the city. More than 30 cooperative housing societies have already gone for self redevelopment, and many more are planning to follow suit.

Any development without the intervention of builders is self redevelopment. Communities coming together to acquire a shelter for themselves has been in practice for almost hundred years.

Chandrasekhar Prabhu, an urban planner and mentor for some successful self redevelopment projects in the city, says that more than 40,000 buildings came up in the city without the help of any developer well before 1965. "The first co operative society project was taken up in 1914, when the institution of builders did not even exist," he said.

Prabhu says that all the players in self redevelopment are the same, except the developers. "The society plays the role of a developer, and it has to hire project management consultants, architects, contractors, and a liaison team to manage all the approvals and clearances," he added. This is exactly what the developers do.

The first project executed by a developer was in 1965in Vile Parle. The ancestral land was utilised to construct home for buyers, who were friends or belonged to the same community.

Around 1970, the trend of a developer executing projects for those who could afford to buy flats started taking shape. It flourished in the next two decades. However, due to the downtrend in real estate, trouble began erupting, as many projects got struck due to various reasons. Buildings were demolished in the name of redevelopment, people left their homes, and were not getting rent after the first few years.

Prabhu said that around 5,000 redevelopment projects are stuck. "People were homeless and developers kept delaying the projects."

People started losing their belief in developers and they started thinking of a viable alternative. "Self redevelopment was the logical answer to cut risks," Prabhu added.

According to him, with 100 per cent members consenting to go for self re-development, housing societies in the city are bidding farewell to developers and in return get rewarded with more area than what is offered by the builders, better planning, better quality construction, and timely completion. "There is assurance from the state government that they will give one window clearance for self-redevelopment projects and this was welcomed by residents of dilapidated buildings, who are tired of waiting for developers to give them a decent offer," added Prabhu.