How Baba Siddique became Mumbai's slum redevelopment lord

MUMBAI: Baba Siddique, who was shot dead on Saturday night, was a successful businessman, with a primary interest in real estate. In the last two decades he came to be regarded as Bandra’s real estate king.

Over the last six to eight months, Siddique and his son Congress MLA Zeeshan had been protesting two slum redevelopment projects -- Sant Dnyaneshwar Nagar and Bharat Nagar -- in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), one of the country’s most expensive real estate micro markets. In BKC, a square metre of built-up area for commercial use is auctioned with a reserved price of ₹3.4 lakh and ₹3.5 lakh for residential purposes.

According to a real estate insider, “Siddique’s objection was not against the project, but because people residing in the shanties were neither kept in the loop, nor was there any transparency.” The locals purportedly were kept in the dark about the size of their homes that they would receive post-redevelopment.

Shiv Sena Member of Legislative Council Anil Parab has been promoting the redevelopment of Sant Dnyaneshwar Nagar – a project that involves Valor Estate (erstwhile D B Realty) of the 2G scam acquitted Shahid Balwa, and Larsen & Toubro (L&T). The two companies declared in July that they would jointly develop a 10-acre land parcel housing 5,500 families to build a 1,000-key five-star luxury hotel, commercial spaces and premium housing, by rehabilitating the slum dwellers. In August, Zeeshan stalled government officials from conducting a survey of the slum colony and was booked for obstructing the officials from discharging their duty.

This plot has a development potential of over 7.5 million square feet, which L&T and Valor Estate plan to share revenue in 58:42 ratio, with the latter operating the luxury hotel. The project cost is tipped at ₹20,000 crore.

Sant Dnyaneshwar Nagar and Bharat Nagar is divided by Vakola Naka that merges into Mithi river.

Bharat Nagar will be redeveloped by Budhpur Buildcon, which is a part of the Ahmedabad-based Adani Group, and Omkar Developers. Residents of the 44-acre slum colony have been privy to the redevelopment buzz for 18 years. The land itself is worth a few thousand crores.

In 2006, the Housing Development & Infrastructure Limited (HDIL) entered the fray by initially offering a “hefty” amount to the locals to vacate the plot. Later, following multiple litigations by 2020, not only did HDIL’s fortunes plummet, it also lost its crown jewel project. After this, Adani Group made an entry.

Apart from the Siddiques, MP Varsha Gaikwad has also been opposing the project by demanding MHADA take it over, as against the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA), as the ownership of the plot is with MHADA.

Demolition of a section of Bharat Nagar, which was planned for September 30, was pre-empted by Gaikwad and the Siddiques.

Among Siddique’s first ventures was Vertical Developers, in partnership with developer Vinay Madnani and Kalpana Shah, in August 2003. By the turn of the year, in September 2004, he floated his own venture along with his wife Shehzeen, named Zears Developers.

Over the last two decades, his business expanded largely in the prime Bandra area. One of the early projects -- Shiv Asthan Heights – was developed in Pali Village. He eventually took over redevelopment of around 30-40 buildings and projects, some of them slums, in and around Bandra – Khar belt, in partnership with other builders.