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MMRDA to reserve half its share for transit homes

Friday, 23 August 2013 10:13 administrator
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The Indian Express               23.08.2013

MMRDA to reserve half its share for transit homes

Fifty per cent of houses under the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority's share of the ambitious rental housing scheme of the state government will be utilised on a priority basis as transit accommodation for people who have been living in dilapidated buildings in the MMR.

The decision was taken by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Thursday, weeks after he made the announcement on July 26 during the state Assembly's monsoon session.

"A sizable chunk of homes under the state government's rental housing scheme is available with the MMRDA. Metropolitan commissioner U P S Madan has been directed by the CM to carry out necessary measures to ensure speedy implementation of this decision," said an official from the chief minister's office.

These homes will be made available to residents living in extremely dangerous and dilapidated buildings that are vacated. The flats will also be given to the municipal body concerned in case it does not have transit accommodation available within its municipal limits. These will be made available to municipal bodies at a nominal rent rate of Re 1 per square meter for a period of 30 years to house the displaced on a temporary basis.

"The rate at which the municipal body will rent out these flats to the displaced will be decided by the commissioner and the revenue generated through this has to be utilised by them to repair these old and dilapidated buildings," the official said.

Chavan had made a similar announcement in May for dilapidated buildings of Thane after the Mumbra collapses. He had also said some tenements would also be given to families of mill workers eligible for subsidised housing. The rental housing scheme was floated in October 2008 with the intention of creating five lakh affordable houses within five years.

However, MMRDA has approved only 54 schemes across MMR so far. Only 25 of these have got commencement certificates and are at different stages of construction. These are expected to yield 45,000 units. There are about 140 proposals under scrutiny.

Close to 3,000 tenements are currently ready - 1,492 at Dosti Vihar Complex in Vartak Nagar and 1,429 at Dosti Imperia Complex in Manpada - both in Thane. These houses have been lying vacant for nearly a year, awaiting state government guidelines on allotment.