Mumbai Builders Angling For Changes In Slum Redevelopment Scheme

The Maharashtra government is planning to redraw some provisions of its Slum Redevelopment Scheme.

Under a proposal currently under consideration, a builder constructing houses for slum dwellers in prime localities will have to take up another project in far-flung areas where property prices are lower.

Till now, builders have been getting additional land for new projects in the same localities. This is a major incentive for them to take slum development activities in prime localities.

If the governments proposal becomes a reality, builders will have to take up a similar project in far-off areas where prices are low. They would, however, continue to receive land in prime areas as before.

 

A government official actively involved in the Slum Redevelopment Scheme said, It has been noticed that the builders are not interested in taking up projects in areas which are not close to the railway stations or in prime localities. According to him the government was forced to think on the above lines due to this reluctance on the part of the builders. Initially, the response to the Slum Redevelopment Scheme was good. However, after the builders realised that there is money in the projects, everyone is eyeing prime localities, he said.

The builders are supposed to provide a family in the slums a flat of 225 sq ft each.

The remaining land can be utilised by the builder to construct buildings and sell in the open market. According to another government official, the builders contention is that there are hardly any takers if the building is far from the railway stations.

There was already a complaint that people are hesitant to stay close to the buildings allotted to slum dwellers, he added.

The places where builders have shown a lot of interest are Worli, Tardeo and Malabar Hill to name a few. The procedure for selecting a builder is that the slum dwellers committee finalises a name and forwards the proposal to the Slum Redevelopment Authority for final approval.

Recently, it has been noticed that there are not much proposals coming up for constructing houses in areas like Dharavi, Ramabai Nagar and Kamraj Nagar in Ghatkopar, Govandi,Mankurd, Malad (E) and Kandivili (E).If the governments proposal gets implemented, builders will have to take up a similar project in far-off areas where prices are low