Taking heed of residents ousted from their homes for years due to slothful redevelopment, govt says if builders make no headway for three years, housing body will step in and rebuild the structure entirely
Slow-moving and erratic redevelopment projects that force many out of their homes indefinitely will now be on a firm leash, what with the chief minister announcing that state housing body Mhada will take over the project if developers do not make any progress in construction for more than three years.
CM Devendra Fadnavis made the announcement in the ongoing assembly session on Monday. He said there had been several complaints against developers for not carrying out the work on time. "Most developers razed the existing structure, throwing out residents or tenants, but could not complete the project. They were interested only in dragging the project for an indefinite period, and there was no visible progress in construction. The residents suffer. We want to stop this harassment by developers," said Fadnavis.
He said the government will make a list of such developers and send them notices cancelling their no-objection certificates (NOC). "Whatever the cost of the project, and the fine, it will be recovered from the developers. In Mumbai, there were 14,000 cessed buildings. The 5,000 old and dilapidated ones were undergoing redevelopment. Mhada is ready to undertake and complete pending and delayed housing projects under cluster and normal development schemes," Fadnavis added.
Congress legislator Amin Patel had raised the issue of cancellation of NOCs if developers fail to complete the projects. While hailing the CM's decision, he warned that Mhada itself is not competent enough to complete the massive projects on time. He said, "There are several buildings undertaken by Mhada, but it has been more than 40 years, and it is unable to complete them. People have been staying in transit for years together, which is a bigger issue. The CM should be cautious before making such announcements, otherwise most of these residents will also end up staying in transit," said Patel.
Patel said that first, Mhada should be made the professional housing construction government authority and only then should it be given such a massive task. "Otherwise, it will be a disaster. Housing is the main and important issue for the people of Mumbai. Therefore, the CM should not take any decisions hurriedly," he said.
The builder community, however, did not seem very upbeat at the turn of things.
Builder Paras Gundecha of Gundecha Developers said that government bodies like BMC, Mhada, environment authorities etc delay issuing permissions. "How can developers be held responsible for this delay? Besides, to undertake the project, we need to take the consent of 70% of the residents. If there is delay in giving consent, the developers should not be held responsible. The government should first issue all required NOCs on time and only then go against the developers," said Gundecha.
Sunil Mantri, president of developers' umbrella body NAREDCO said, "Mhada should work as a facilitator rather than getting involved in construction."
New housing policy by May
Chief Minister Fadnavis said that focus of the new housing policy will be on affordable housing. If the developer is undertaking a project on a plot more than 4,000 sq m in area, then 20% of the constructed area should be given to the government. The area should be either at the same location or the same civic ward. If there is a difference in the ready reckoner rates for the two locations, additional houses should be given by the developer to the government.
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