Maharashtra Cabinet clears cluster development policy for Mumbai

1,000-1,500 land parcels have been identified for cluster development in Mumbai

The Maharashtra Cabinet on Tuesday cleared a cluster development policy for the island city of Mumbai. The policy has kept the floor space index unchanged, owing to pending court cases.

Under the policy, dilapidated buildings, cess buildings and buildings of the state government and the Maharashtra Housing & Area Development Authority that are more than 40 year old will be entitled for redevelopment. There are about 19,000 such buildings in the island city.

According to the policy, the approval of 70 per cent of the owners will be required for redevelopment; the approval of the rest can be secured within a year. However, for dilapidated buildings and those declared risky to reside, such approvals will not be required. In such cases, the government will acquire the land and incorporate those buildings under the cluster development policy.

In the island city of Mumbai, 1,000-1,500 land parcels have been identified for cluster development.

Tuesday’s decision is seen as a bid by the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party government to regain lost ground ahead of the Assembly elections in the state, scheduled for October. During the Lok Sabha elections this year, the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party alliance had lost all the six seats in Greater Mumbai.