To build 500,000 low-rent houses

INFRA PUSH FOR `MAXIMUM CITY`

"The state governments' slum rehabilitation schemes are essentially slum upgrade programme but what we need is an SPP, which is easily possible if affordable housing is made available to the migrants who have come in search of job opportunities," said Gaikwad.

Under the SPP, 160 sq ft houses with attached toilets will be made available for a rent of between Rs 800 and Rs 1,500. The MMRDA had earmarked Rs 100 crore for the SPP, said Gaikwad.

In addition to developing the housing indigenously in some cases, the MMRDA plans to take the public-private partnership (PPP) route, according to Gaikwad.

"In Mumbai, we would like to go for the PPP model. Just as in the case of infrastructure projects, where the project-affected persons (PAPs) are rehabilitated by the developer on his own land and in lieu gets transferable development rights (TDR) for both land and construction, we will be offering TDR to the builder for making housing stock available," Gaikwad said.

"However, outside Mumbai, in MMR, the PPP model will not be feasible as TDRs don't fetch the price which they get in Mumbai. So, the MMRDA will develop the housing stock on its own. The MMRDA has identified sites at Thane, Dombivali, Ulhasnagar, Karjat and plans to start construction work on these sites in four to five months," he added.

For developing the housing, the MMRDA will approach the state government to compensate it by giving additional floor space index (FSI) on the site itself. It would sell this additional construction at market rates, he said.