The Maharashtra government on Friday approved an integrated township for low-income families in Borivali west, clearing the way for a 28.84-acre project that will be built on land owned by BSNL and MTNL. The township, planned for Shimpoli and mainland Gorai, is expected to be completed in three to four years.
The project was greenlighted under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban and will be developed by the Maharashtra Housing Development Corporation. Devendra Fadnavis approved the proposal to transfer the land from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited to MahaHousing at the Ready Reckoner rate, a transfer estimated at ₹729 crore.
The township is meant to house economically weaker sections and low-income groups in homes of about 450 sq ft each, with a school, hospital, playground, cultural centre, commercial area and a skill development centre built into the plan. Tryambak Kasar said it would not be just another housing project and called it the first such project in a metro city in Maharashtra.
The project also matters because it folds affordable housing into one of Mumbai’s most expensive suburban stretches, where space is scarce and demand is constant. The township will be served by two metro stations and the proposed Versova-Dahisar coastal road, giving the development transport links that many lower-income housing projects in the city do not get.
The unresolved question now is not whether the plan exists — the state has already approved it — but whether the land transfer, construction schedule and ground work stay on track. The ground-breaking ceremony is expected in two to three months, and that is when the project will move from promise to construction site.
