The Hindu Business Line : Wadas of Pune ripe for redevelopment

’Wadas’, the 16th century-style tenements in the heart of Pune, are in perilous state of disrepair and require urgent attention. But owners and tenants are not cooperating.

R. Savitha

Residents of Pune’s wadas, the 16th century-style tenements in the heart of the city, are fast waking up to the need to do something about their crumbling edifices. That redevelopment of wadas has to happen, and fast, has hit both the tenants and the owners alike.

Repairs needed

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) records that of the nearly 18,000 properties located in Kasba Peth, Budhwar Peth, Shaniwar Peth, Nana Peth, Bhavani Peth and Narayan Peth, around 8,000 are very old and need immediate repairs.

Many are considered dangerous to live in but repairs have not always been possible because of technical and legal issues, including ownership issues of a majority of the wadas. Even if a tenant wants to repair the wada, it is necessary for him to get a no-objection certificate from the owner, who would invariably refuse to give it.

A wada is a typical 16th century construction style, originally meant for the society’s elite, where joint families could live in the many rooms on the same premises.

Over time the same style of construction was practised allowing for many families to live in as tenants and share common utilities such as toilets and bathrooms.

Mr Shantilal Kataria, Chairman and Managing Director of Aditya Developers, is of the view that wada redevelopment would help Pune and although late , the builders would welcome the idea. He said the idea of redevelopment had been on in Pune for a long time, and as recently as two months back the Promoters and Builders Association of Pune (PBAP) and the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (CREDAI) had met with Mr T. C. Benjamin, the State Urban Development Department (UDD) Principal Secretary, and had put forward the proposal.

For overall betterment

Mr Benjamin had wanted Pune to follow the footsteps of Mumbai where old building had been redeveloped, helping the owners as well as the tenants alike. “Eight years ago, we used to develop wadas within the given FSI, but this would happen only when the tenants as well as the owners had an agreement.

Not all wadas in Pune are heritage structures and most of the wadas do not get redeveloped as the tenants and owners are invariably at loggerheads.

But there are plenty of wadas which only require redevelopment but the PMC has to give us a good FSI, else it would not be financially viable.”

If a wada is redeveloped, it is for the betterment of both the tenant as well as the owner, for none of them alone can look at repairs or maintenance of the dilapidated wada.

According to builders and developers, hardly 20 per cent of these wadas are in a liveable condition. These wadas were made out of clay, bricks and wood, which have deteriorated over the years, due to lack of maintenance. As the rents too are pretty low and cannot be raised due to the Rent Act, the owners too are not interested in maintenance .

Mr K. P. Baney, Chairman and Managing Director of Devi Constructions, noted that all the builders and developers would like to help in the development of the wadas.

There are many concessions being offered and the area has not been developed so far. The wadas should be redeveloped as a mix of residential and commercial complexes. As the people have been staying there for a long time, development of residential building would be a priority, but commercial space should also be allowed for viability.

He noted that Devi Constructions had been approached about three times for redevelopment but it has always got deferred because the residents did not cooperate.

The owners are looking at the financial aspect as well as getting more built-up space in the same area, he added.

Incentive FSI

Mr Kishore Wani, Director of Amit Enterprises, notes that that redevelopment of the wadas had begun eight years ago — being built up as apartments with an FSI (floor space index) of 1.5 and for commercial space at an FSI of two. But commercial buildings could come up in the place of a wada only if the wada was on a 30 ft road, where an FSI of two was possible.

If there are a large number of tenants the limit of 1.5 FSI is not feasible for redevelopment, he saidThe State Government needs to bring in ‘incentive FSI’ in Pune as it did in Mumbai.

Incentive FSI is the component of FSI that can be used for free-sale. The incentive FSI admissible ranges from 50 to 75 per cent of the total area of amalgamated plots.

Ms Punam Gadgil, resident of Sadashiv Peth, used to live in a wada which had been around since the time of her great grandfather.

The area was 675 sq.ft, consisting of six rooms. Today, she owns an apartment of 1,030 sq.ft of two bedroom-hall-kitchen. The redevelopment happened, she said, as a couple of more tenants mutually agreed to leave.

In May 2008 they handed the wada over to the local builder and this September she will be shifting into her new home.

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