Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has opened a new chapter in Mumbai’s urban policy by unveiling a regulatory framework that seeks to untangle one of the city’s most complicated housing puzzles — the redevelopment of pagdi buildings. Describing the decision as “historic”, Shinde positioned the move as a safety-first reform intended to prevent more tragedies in a city where structural collapses have become grimly familiar headlines.

For decades, the pagdi system has been a paradox — legally protected yet structurally trapped in time. Dating back to pre-Independence Bombay, this hybrid ownership model gives tenants near-permanent rights despite paying extremely low rent. Landlords, on the other hand, are left with minimal financial incentive to maintain ageing properties. The result: thousands of buildings stuck in limbo, slowly decaying as legal disputes pile up and redevelopment dreams remain on paper.

A City Living on Borrowed Time

Shinde’s announcement brings the spotlight back on Mumbai’s ageing spine: over 19,000 rent-controlled buildings, most built before 1960. As per government records, more than 13,000 such structures are still awaiting redevelopment. Each monsoon tests their resilience, and each year adds new cracks — both structural and bureaucratic.

Past attempts at redevelopment repeatedly collapsed under the weight of mistrust. Tenants feared displacement, landlords complained of financial loss, and developers hesitated to step into a legal minefield. Many disputes dragged on for years in small-cause courts, turning the city’s oldest neighbourhoods into zones of perpetual uncertainty.

A Formula to Break the Deadlock

The new framework attempts to bring both sides to the negotiating table with a formula-driven approach:

• FSI (Floor Space Index) equal to the tenant’s currently occupied area, ensuring no loss of living space

• Separate FSI benefits for landlords based on land ownership

• Extra incentive FSI for economically weaker tenants, making reconstruction financially viable

• Provision of TDR (Transferable Development Rights) where height or planning rules limit reconstruction

Shinde also signalled that a special rulebook will be drafted for buildings occupied primarily by low-income residents, acknowledging that increased FSI alone cannot solve deep-rooted financial and legal challenges.

Why This Matters Now

The timing is crucial. In recent years, Mumbai has seen several collapse incidents that revealed an uncomfortable truth: the pagdi model, while protective of tenant rights, has unintentionally turned many structures into safety hazards. Policymakers have long argued that without new incentives, the city risks losing entire neighbourhoods to avoidable disasters.

From an op-ed perspective, the reform represents a shift in political attitude — replacing ad-hoc rehabilitation with systematic planning. It forces Mumbai to confront the uncomfortable legacy of rent control laws that froze rents in time but accelerated the decay of buildings.

Will It Work?

The new guidelines are being welcomed cautiously. Tenant groups want guarantees that their rights won’t erode during redevelopment. Landlords say the formula must be financially workable. Urban policy experts propose that the biggest test will be implementation — whether the government can mediate disputes quickly enough and prevent the framework from becoming another bureaucratic maze.

Still, even critics agree that the move signals intent. If executed well, it could become the blueprint for phasing out the century-old pagdi system and replacing it with safer, financially sustainable redevelopment that respects both history and modern needs.

For Mumbai — a city built on compromise, negotiation, and constant reinvention — this could be the beginning of long-awaited change.