Phase Two of Redevelopment of Crawford Market to begin soon

The Phase Two of the redevelopment of 147-year old Mahatma Jyotiba Phule market, widely known as 'Crawford Market', is going to take place soon. The proposal of a ₹228 crore redevelopment plan will be put forward before the civic standing committee on Wednesday for the final nod.

Phase Two consists of

• Demolition of the old market building
• Restoration of the heritage beef market building
• Restoration of the heritage fountain and umbrella-shaped dome
• Construction of a three-floored building, landscaping, parking lot, firefighting system and solar energy system.

The restoration work of the Grade-I structure has been carried out in phases. Phase One of the three-year restoration project was initiated in September 2014. A total of 130 shops in Phase One were restored last year, while the work for the left behind 265 shops began in December 2017.

The project was approved in 2007 by the BMC and had also appointed a developer in order to monitor the project. However, after activists’ protests against a private developer taking over the project, the civic body decided to regenerate the structure on its own.

The project currently aims to rehabilitate around 630 stall owners and vendors which include the 200 fish vendors from Shivaji market, both wholesalers and retailers, will be accommodated in the new building.