MUMBAI, March 17 -- After decades of living in cramped 160 sq ft chawl rooms, over 800 families of the Bombay Development Directorate (BDD) chawls at Naigaon in Dadar began receiving the keys to their new 2BHK homes on Monday. The symbolic key distribution ceremony took place ahead of Gudi Padwa on March 19, which signifies new beginnings in Maharashtra. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and his two deputies Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar described the move as an "advance Gudi Padwa gift" for residents who have waited years for improved housing conditions. The new flats, each measuring 500 sq ft carpet area, are part of the first phase of the redevelopment of the Naigaon BDD chawls being undertaken by Mhada. The redeveloped housing cluster has been named the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar BDD Complex. On Monday, keys were distributed for 864 newly constructed flats across five towers. Of these, 423 units have been earmarked for serving and retired police personnel and their families. Spread across 6.45 hectares, the complex currently houses 3,344 tenants in 42 ground-plus-three-storey chawls. Under the redevelopment plan, the chawls will be replaced by 20 rehabilitation towers of 23 storeys each, to be constructed in two phases. The first phase of the project covers Plot B, where 1,401 residents are to be rehabilitated. While 864 flats are ready and being handed over now, the remaining 537 units are expected to be completed by April 2026. The second phase will focus on Plot A, where 19 existing chawls stand, with construction of three of the 12 proposed towers already under way. In March 2017, Mhada appointed Larsen & Toubro as the contractor for the redevelopment. Residents were either been shifted to transit accommodation or opted for a rent arrangement under which families receive Rs.25,000 per month as advance rent for 11 months until their new homes are ready. Addressing residents, CM Fadnavis said the government aims to complete the entire BDD redevelopment by 2029 and urged beneficiaries not to sell their newly allotted flats. Deputy CM Eknath Shinde said the project, initiated before the Covid-19 pandemic, had faced delays but regained momentum after 2022. He added that Mhada would bear the maintenance costs of the buildings for 12 years and said residents would be able to celebrate Gudi Padwa in their new homes....