Mumbai: A proposal to lease for 30 years 23,822 square metres of land in the Century Mills’ Lower Parel plot for redevelopment to Peddar Realty Ltd, the highest bidder at Rs 1,351 crore, will come up for final approval before BMC improvement committee on Wednesday, Aug 12.BMC had set a reserve price of Rs 1,348 crore for the plot, and four developers — Peddar Realty, K Raheja Corp, Keystone Realtors and Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate — had submitted their bids in March.According to the civic body, Peddar Realty had submitted a bid of Rs 1,351 crore, which was 0.22% more than the base price. The plot currently has 23 buildings comprising 476 tenements occupied by eligible mill workers’ families and 10 shops.Families of workers of the mill, which shut in 2006, will be permanently rehabilitated as part of the redevelopment.The plot was originally leased to Century Spinning and Manufacturing Ltd (now Century Textiles & Industries Ltd) for 28 years from April 1, 1927, to house employees from the poorer class. The lease deed expired in 1955. According to the civic body’s terms, the lease rent for the first 30 years will be Re 1 per square metre per annum for open land and Re 1 per square metre per annum for buildings under construction (BUA). The lease rent for the next 30 years, which is renewable, will be as per the prevailing policy at the time.The concerned plot will be leased on an ‘as is where is’ basis, and the bidder will have to rehabilitate all eligible residents of the said plot at its own cost. They will be provided flats with a minimum carpet area of 405 square feet. The municipal commissioner reserves the right to take back possession of the concerned land after the expiry of the lease period. If the lease is not renewed further, the lessee shall have to return peaceful possession of the land as well as the developed portion.Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Aaditya Thackeray had earlier written to the municipal commissioner, stating that BMC should not proceed with the redevelopment proposal without determining the eligibility of local residents and fulfilling their demands.
