GAURAIPADA

Krishna has lived all his life in Gaurai Pada. He shares how the region had nothing but rice fields up to 2000 but that this was when large scale slum clearances in Mumbai started pushing people to the edges. He said he was upset that his people (ie locals) did not take advantage of this but instead that ‘outsiders’ bought land for cheap and made money from building construction. He says he is the only local who has invested to such an extent in real estate. He has built about 10,000 rooms in an area now called Ram Krishna Nagar, and is one of the biggest builders in the area.

Krishna says the prices in the area have now escalated. A guntha (approx 1000 sft) that cost Rs 40,000 in 2000, now costs Rs 15 lakhs. A room in these settlements costs about Rs 3 lakhs. However, Krishna says that there is no scope to build anymore, all the land is over. He is waiting for the City Corporation to turn the green zone into an urbanisable zone so he can turn the slums into residential complexes. He wants to move from being a builder known for illegal construction to a builder known to build complexes. This is the future of the area, he believes.