A similar situation exists across the 120-foot Road at Parsi Colony where as many as 45 out of 225 four-storey building plots have been cleared. A multi-storey building, complete with a swimming pool, is coming up at Dosal Mansion, a beautiful and sturdy bungalow on Jame Jamshed Road. Residents from neighbouring buildings had raised objections as there was only two feet of open space between them and the new construction.
The colony has become a lucrative destination for developers due to its wide roads and open gardens developed since colonial times. But rampant construction has resulted in problems such as lack of car parking and flooding, something which the residents had not witnessed earlier.
Incidentally, this has been made possible because of a lesser known amendment in the 1991 DCR. After amending the law in 1999, the state permitted developers to reconstruct cessed buildings even if they fall under heritage precincts.
“We are not against redevelopment per se, but the manner in which it is permitted,” said Zarine Engineer, chairperson of the Dadar Parsi Colony Residents’ Association. “Buildings in good condition are being reduced to rubble. Thankfully, the recent Bombay High Court order has put a check on the destruction of the neighbourhood.”
