30 Developers Submit Plans to Build Affordable Houses in Mumbai

Latest Housing News, Schemes & Projects | By Rajkumar

After the decision of state government to resuscitate the Shivshahi Punarvasan Prakalp Ltd (SPPL), about 30 developers have submitted proposals to build low-cost houses in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region along with government-owned agency.

Shivshahi Punarvasan Prakalp Ltd is a state-run company, launched in 1998 by Shiv Sena. Along with the launch of SPPL, Slum Rehabilitation Scheme were also launched.

The Proposal of building affordable houses are received from developers and large landowners of Mumbai which are mostly from the satellite towns of Mumbai such as Panvel, Kalyan, Karjat, Rasyani, Shil and Turbhe and they also suggested various joint development scheme with SPPL on private land. The proposed projects could yield the demand of houses in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.

The SPPL was founded by Shiv Sena in 1998 to undertake Slum Rehabilitation Authority Projects and contracts. The then housing minister Suresh Jain, a Shiv Sena leader who later moved to the NCP, had steered the formation of SPPL. Incidentally, SPPL was a cause of fissure in the Sena-BJP alliance at that time.

However, in August this year, the Devendra Fadnavis government had decided to revive SPPL, which over the years had become nearly defunct due to a liquidity crunch. The chief minister had announced Rs 500 crore to revive the company.

Out of these thirty proposals that have received from developers for joint development with SPPL, two are for large townships. The first one cover the area of 100 acres at Kelavli by Hubtown and the second one cover the area of about 200 acres near Karjat by a Brick Eagle-led consortium. Apart from these two, the plot size of these 30 proposals are ranging from 6 acres to 200 acres, with a majority of them being on plots below 100 acres.

Raj Purohit, the BJP legislator and former minister of state for housing when SPPL was founded in 1998 quoted that “In 1998, we were protesting the way in which Suresh Jain was going about the proposal without taking anyone’s views into consideration. We weren’t opposed to the concept, but to the form in which it was being done. This time, the BJP-led government will ensure that all the weaknesses are plugged.”

The revival of SPPL is the key for constructing 19 lakh affordable houses across the state by 2022 under Housing For all Scheme. The agency is currently scrutinizing the 30 proposals it has received with the help of government-owned Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd.

The senior official of SPPL said, “In most cases, developers have offered land and a share in the total housing stock generated in return for higher Floor Space Index (FSI). As of now, the FSI in all these areas is up to 1. We are now scrutinising all the proposals to see which all could be worked out within the existing norms, feasibility of the plot’s location, availability of transport and other ancillary infrastructure.”

SPPL is considering implementing the affordable housing scheme on the lines of the MMRDA’s rental housing scheme that was later converted to affordable housing, he also added.

Under this scheme, developers are granted an FSI of 3 for a minimum one-acre plot with a rider that the FSI share for the affordable and free sale component be 1:3.

Source: www.indianexpress.com

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