People don’t need Mhada homes: MLA

Though the Congress manifesto states the party is committed to creating more low-cost housing by redeveloping colonies on government land, one of its own MLAs has argued that since people in the city have outgrown the need for 400 sq ft houses, the government should instead concentrate on generating revenue from these projects.

In a letter written to the chief minister asking him to halt the proposed amendment of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) Act related to redevelopment projects, South Mumbai MLA Amin Patel has said the city no longer needs 40 sq mt (for low income group) and 80 sq mt (middle income group) homes being created by the authority.

The amendment Patel is referring to is in section 33 (5) of the Mhada Act, which has already been approved by the Mumbai board of the authority and is awaiting the CM’s nod. It is aimed at creating more housing stock for the authority by putting the onus of creating low-cost housing on the builder appointed for the redevelopment project. At the moment, Mhada takes a share of the developers’ profit for allowing him to redevelop the property, and uses this revenue to build low-income houses on its own.

Patel states in the letter that the amendment will completely halt the redevelopment of all Mhada colonies. “The rehabilitation criteria is far lower than what people expect, especially in view of the changing lifestyle and increased size of families,” states the letter, a copy of which is with DNA.

The letter also speaks of the hardship the developers will face if the amendment is passed. “The developers won’t be able to buy this additional floor space index (FSI), as a result of which residents will prefer a status quo than opt for redevelopment,” states the letter.

When asked about the opinions expressed by the MLA, a senior Congress leader admitted the letter was against the spirit of the party manifesto. The leader, requesting anonymity, said that the party is committed to constructing more housing for the urban poor. “Creating such stock will only be possible if we amend section 33 (5),” he said.

Currently, the builder gets two-thirds of the free sale component generated from a redevelopment project, while the authority gets the rest. If the amendment is passed, the sharing ratio will be reversed. Moreover, instead of generating revenue from its share, Mhada will pay the builder to build the low-cost homes and recover the cost from sale of the flats.