Indian Express 18.11.2009
CM nod to low-cost houses in city
Project for lower income groups migrating for jobs
Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Monday approved the construction of affordable rental houses for middle and lower income groups in Pune who migrate from rural areas to the city in search of a livelihood.
The civic bodies of Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad have taken up a project on the lines of a similar project undertaken by the Mumbai Metropolitan Development Authority (MMRDA) in Mumbai.
The Minister of State for Housing Sachin Ahir said Chavan was now keen on starting similar projects in Pune and Nagpur. “In Pune, there would be an FSI of 2.5 for encouraging private builders to help out with this project,” he said.
Though the figure of the number of houses has not been decided as yet, the houses will consist of multipurpose rooms. “The houses will be transit points where people can stay before they move to bigger houses,” an MMRDA official said
Each house will be 160 sq ft in size and leased out at Rs 800-Rs 1,000 a month. “With job-seekers from lower income groups flooding metros, these houses were essential,” he added.
The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) will look into the construction of the houses.
“The FSI will be 2.5 as there was a need for creating rental housing stock and private land owners willing to hand over their land for these constructions,” the official said.
In Mumbai, the MMRDA has joined hands with a private developer for a mass housing project that has been projected as the country’s biggest rental housing project in the post-independence period.
The project is being developed near the Virar railway station to cater to 1.33 lakh families. The criteria for rental houses include a monthly income of Rs 5,000 and a 15-year stay in the state.
