MUMBAI, Dec. 9 -- The redevelopment of 388 old and dilapidated Mhada buildings in South Mumbai may finally move forward. After attempts by these housing societies to invite private developers failed, the state housing agency has agreed to redevelop these buildings if approached by housing societies, in groups. The redevelopment of these 388 buildings has been in limbo mainly due to their small plot size, which makes it unviable for private builders to take up these projects. Another reason is the absence of consensus among housing societies. A total of 27,373 families live in these 388 crumbling buildings, scattered across South Mumbai, in areas such as Colaba, Girgaon, Mumbadevi, Byculla, Sewri, Prabhadevi, and Mahim. Each building has 80-100 flats, each measuring 100-200 sq ft. These buildings were redeveloped once by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) three to four decades ago by demolishing 900-odd old and dilapidated structures. Now, they are in need of redevelopment again. Many of them stand on plots measuring 400-600 sq mt, viewed as commercially unviable for private developers. In some cases, when a group of housing societies attempted to club their buildings, to be able to offer a larger land parcel to a private developer, the process was stalled by the absence of a consensus. Now, Mhada has agreed to step in. The Mhada Sangharsh Kruti Samiti, which represents these 388 buildings, has received a letter from the office of Praveen Darekar, who heads the Self-Redevelopment Authority under the state government, confirming this decision. "If a group of buildings comes together and resolves that Mhada should undertake a redevelopment project, Mhada will undertake that redevelopment project," states the letter, a copy of which has been sent to Mhada. Eknath Rajapure, working president of the samiti, welcomed the decision, which he said would benefit around a third of the 388 buildings. "Attempts by housing societies to appoint a private builder have drawn a blank. Since the land on which these buildings stands belongs to Mhada, the housing agency's readiness to redevelop these buildings in clusters will bring relief to thousands of residents in these societies," said Rajapure. He said that the association is also pushing for the "Mini-Cluster Redevelopment Policy" currently being discussed for neighbouring Mira-Bhayandar, to be implemented in Mumbai as well. If the government agrees to this policy, the minimum plot size would be halved from the current 4,000 sq ft under the Cluster Redevelopment Policy. Meanwhile, another category of buildings under Mhada appears to have hit a wall in its redevelopment plans. More than four years since an amendment was introduced to the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Act, 1976, to acquire cessed buildings whose redevelopment has been stalled in the island city, not a single project has been either fully acquired or taken off, according to information revealed in response to a Right to Information application. In July 2021, the state had introduced Section 91 (A) under the Mhada Act, to empower the housing agency to acquire these buildings. However, litigation and procedural bottlenecks have scuttled these plans. Mhada's Mumbai Building Repairs & Reconstruction Board (MBRRB) issued notices to take over 90-odd projects whose redevelopment projects are stuck or incomplete. Eventually, the MBRRB moved to take over just 14, a number further whittled down to seven projects that have been approved by the state government, according to a Mhada official. "There is near-total paralysis in the acquisition system that was intended to rescue tenants trapped in legal and financial limbo. At this rate, there is little hope for thousands of tenants who have already lost their homes," said Jeetendra Ghadge, founder of the Young Whistleblowers Foundation. "Mhada needs to fast-track the acquisition process. Unfortunately, it seems Mhada is not interested in giving justice to tenants and is instead offering more time to developers," said Ghadge....