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Mumbai: 500 sqft homes for slums pipe dream

DNA analyses whether the Congress promise of 500 sq ft homes for slum dwellers is even viable

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When Congress president Rahul Gandhi visited Mumbai last week, he promised the slum dwellers homes of 500 sqft each if his party is voted to power. The catch in the bargain, experts say, is that the new area would be a good 200 sqft more than what the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) offers under its free housing scheme. To create this additional space, DNA found that at least Rs 1 lakh crore will have to be pumped in by the state government and there is a very high chance that the builders will be reluctant to cash in on the project. Mumbai has over 11 lakh slum dwellers.

This is not the first time that slum dwellers are being chipped in as a key to unlock political favouritism, especially when the election battleground is just at the corridor. To them, the promise of owning a large carpet space is 'live life king size'.

The SRA scheme, created in the mid-90s to provide free housings, fixed that any settlement succeeding 1995 only can gain from this largesse. Thee area was fixed at 269 sqft. Later, the cut-off date was extended to slum homes erected before 2000.

A senior official with the housing department said Rahul Gandhi's promise is much like a castle built in the air. To construct a real deal, he explained, Mumbai will have to reclaim land from the sea — at least 20 — 40% of the size of the city now.

"Being landlocked, Mumbai doesn't have abundant land. On top, the state government will have to chip in the extra cost. A promise of this kind will close the SRA forever."

"Before SRA, slum dwellers used to get 160 sqft homes under other schemes. Then the Shiv Sena government increased the tenement size to 225 sqft. Later, the government under Vilasrao Deshmukh increased the area to 269 sq ft. So, why can't now the space go up to 500 sq ft?" asked Mumbai Congress president Sanjay Nirupam.

"SRA is the only scheme in which the housing policy is framed by the government. The rehabilitation, however, is carried out by private developers. In Mumbai, development grows in vertical space and builders need to be given extra Floor Space Index," he added. While the promise is a flat deal to lure people, the order is only mounting pressure on developers.

"Developers need to factor in costs such as drinking water, sanitation, infrastructure - it is not just building a home for slum dwellers. The market is also down right now, not to forget that construction costs have increased by 80% in the last ten years. The biggest issue is relocating the slum dwellers during construction. Given all the factors, 500 sqft is too much to provide," said Rohit Poddar, Joint Secretary, NAREDCO West, (a national real estate body) and Managing Director, Poddar Housing and Development Limited.

Parth Mehta, Paradigm Realty managing director says that since the number of slum dwellers in any settlement is always huge as compared to the land available, building 500 sqft homes is impossible.

Meanwhile, the BJP has termed the promise as anti-poor, anti-environment, anti-Marathi manoos and, of course, nonfeasible.

"To provide 500 sqft homes, we will need space which is more than one-and-a-half times the size of Mumbai. Where is the Congress planning to build this, in the sea? Or does it want to drive away slum dwellers from Mumbai like how they did with the mill workers?" asked Ashish Shelar, MLA and president, Mumbai BJP.

ARE REALTORS HAPPY WITH PROPOSAL?

Not really, experts say, because at least Rs 1 lakh crore will have to be pumped in by the state govt

  • 1,500 More than 1,500 SRA schemes approved
     
  • 500 sq ft will be the area of the new homes promised by Rahul Gandhi
     
  • 300 sq ft is the area of homes under SRA
     
  • Rs 15 lakh is the approximate cost a 500 sqft flat will cost
     
  • Rs 1 lakh crore is what the government will have to pay if it decides to give additional 200 sq ft to slum dwellers

MARKET LOW, BUT COST HIGH

  • Developers need to factor in costs such as drinking water, sanitation, infrastructure - it is not just building a home for slum dwellers. The market is also down right now, not to forget that construction costs have increased by 80%  in the last ten years. The biggest issue is relocating the slum dwellers during construction. Given all the factors, 500 sqft is too much to provide,” said Rohit Poddar, Joint Secretary, NAREDCO West, & Md OF Poddar Housing and Development Limited

Colaba 
Rs 2.20 cr  to 2.70 cr

Lower Parel 
Rs 1.40 cr to 1.80 cr

Andheri 
Rs 1.10 cr to 1.5 cr

Bandra 
Rs 2 cr  to 2.25 cr

Borivali 
Rs 1 cr  to 1.25 cr

Ghatkopar 
Rs 1.25 to 1.60 cr

Mulund 
Rs 80 lakh to 1 cr

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