Slum-free Ahmedabad dream now realty

The Gujarat government’s public-private-partnership (PPP) model for developing housing for the urban poor has already taken off in Ahmedabad. A day after the proposal was announced by urban development minister Nitin Patel, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) started work on two pending proposals, one from the Bakeri group and another from the Mumbai-based Akruti City. 

While Bakeri has sent the proposal for Gulbai Tekra and Vadaj slum areas, Akruti City is looking at five other spots in the city. The policy, which makes construction of affordable housing lucrative for builders, may well change the face of Gujarat. Under the PPP model, builders can acquire government land occupied by slums and build houses for slum-dwellers. The developer may also choose an alternate site for rehabilitating the dwellers.  Builders will be allowed a higher FSI for the purpose, which can also be utilised for another piece of land of the same proportion, which will be given to them by the government elsewhere in the state.  If everything goes as planned, slum pockets in Ahmedabad — such as those in Amraiwadi, Khokhra, Gulbai Tekra and Ramapir Na Tekra — may soon be transformed into decent residential localities.

In fact, Akruti and Bakeri had earlier approached the AMC with the proposals, but the lack of proper policy for the transfer of development rights had stalled the projects.  Akruti City had proposed to construct around 9,120 tenement units in the five pockets. Each tenement unit was conceived to comprise a living room, bedroom, kitchen, washroom and a balcony.