With the civic polls inching closer, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray are going to unveil a housing policy for the state on September 2, which will lay emphasis on resolving issues such as the redevelopment of 5,400 dilapidated Mhada societies and BDD chawls, extra Floor Space Index (FSI) to affordable housing, extending cluster development to suburbs and development of transit camps. However, the Opposition has criticised the government for announcing the policy in a private function, which is to be held at Ghatkopar, the constituency of housing minister Prakash Mehta, and not in a government programme.
There are a few issues related to redevelopment that have been pending for the last three years. The 2013 housing policy did not serve its purpose and hence the government will be coming up with a fresh policy, an official from the housing department said. “There are some changes expected in the development control (DC) rules 33 (5) which will enable redevelopment of about 10,000 old buildings in the city. As per the state government’s mission of providing affordable housing, the FSI would be increased for some projects to meet the need. The state is also likely to have definite measures for transit camps and their redevelopment. At present, 8,500 encroachers are staying in these camps,” the official said.
The state’s 2008 housing policy worked well as it received 774 proposals for redevelopment of which 768 were approved. However, the 2013 policy did not take off. It had received only 82 proposals of redevelopment, of which 41 got approved and only five are ongoing.
A long-pending approval for redevelopment of BDD chawls is also on the cards. The state will have to make changes in the DC rules 33 (9) for the BDD chawls situated at prime locations like Sewri, Worli and Naigaon, the official added.
Mr Fadnavis had announced extending the cluster development approach to the suburbs as well. The CM’s announcement will be included in the housing policy. As per the Afzalpurkar Committee report, tenants in old suburban buildings should be protected. The recommendation of the committee will have its way in the new policy, the official added.
“The CM will give broad direction on the new housing policy, focussing on Mumbai, so that the government can work on it in detail,” the official said, hinting that the programme scheduled for September 2 is not a government programme.
“The government is setting a wrong precedent by unveiling state policies in a private programme. BJP and Shiv Sena do not follow the government business rules and it seems they are not serious about democracy,” Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said.
