On Sunday afternoon, Patil, along with nearly 2,000 tenants and landlords, came together to hear about the Rs 12,000-crore pilot project that promises to transform their lives. The detailed proposal has been put to gether by the Remaking of Mumbai Federation, a group of over 200 associations, retired judges, bureaucrats and NGOs.

The project, simply put, is this: Over a period of 5-7 years, over 200 acres of C ward, which includes areas like Kalbadevi and Bhuleshwar, would be redeveloped. The state government, tenants, landlords and developers would come together through a public-private partnership scheme to facilitate this. A brand new township would be built for transit accommodation where people would be moved in while they wait for their new houses. The entire development would cost around Rs 12,000 crore.

The federation has made several presentations to the state government and civic body, all of which were well received. With tenants and landlords welcoming the plan on Sunday, the federation can now submit it for final approval to the state.

"The idea is to create a scheme which is a win-win situation for everyone. This allows profit-sharing between the developer, landlord and even the tenant where the latter not only gets a new house but also a part of the profit that the developer makes," said Lalit Gandhi, chairman of the federation.