The Shivshai Punarvasan Prakalp Limited (SPPL) is going to fund developers in the city by offering loans totalling Rs 500 crore. It is said the move will create stock of affordable homes in the city.
“Private developers are in desperate need of funds and if their Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) projects are stuck for this reason, the SPPL will give loans to them at low interest rates. In exchange for this, we expect these developers to hand over a percentage of their commercially exploitable flats to the SPPL, which should be smaller in size compared to the usual sizes of luxurious flats in the commercially exploitable segment, also known as sale component,” said Debashish Chakraborty, managing director of the SPPL.
The SPPL is going to get the Rs 500 crore, which will be given as loans, from the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) and SRA via equity.
“Subsequently tenders will be invited from private developers that are interested in implementing such a role model,” added Mr Chakraborty.
The SPPL is the Maharashtra government’s housing body, which was the brainchild of former housing minister Suresh Jain in 1998. However, the body has come back into the spotlight only since last year as the Bharatiya Janata Party-Shiv Sena led government had shown interest in reviving it.
“This system will also be helpful for those tenants whose projects are stuck and have been staying in transit camps for years,” said a SPPL official.
However, a senior SPPL official, on the condition of anonymity, said, “We will have to be very careful before dealing with private developers and — personally speaking — I somehow do not agree with the idea of giving loans to them as they are not reliable lenders. I will be writing to the Maharashtra government indicating that it must keep a tight watch on SPPL officials who will be giving clearances for granting loans for the project.”
The SPPL is also trying to generate additional funds from National Housing Bank (NHB) and Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited (Hudco), both Central government-funded agencies for granting loans.
