As old and eligible buildings in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) await redevelopment, Dr. Bhushan Gagrani, Commissioner of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), stated that there is a need to create enough housing stock for which redevelopment is a better option by exploring the possibilities of public-private partnerships. He was addressing at a panel discussion on ‘Society redevelopment under various sections’ organised by NAREDCO Maharashtra on Sunday, the final day of the HOMETHON Property Expo 2024.
In response to the state’s real estate industry’s desire for a reduction in the premium on redevelopment, Gagrani indicated that numerous redevelopment pathways might be appropriately designed and feasible.
The Commissioner stated that Section 33(7A), which applies to the rehabilitation of old, unsafe, existing, authorised tenant-occupied structures in suburbs, had received a positive response from private societies, who were pursuing competitive bidding from developers.
Gautam Chatterjee, former Founding Chairman of MahaRERA, said that incentivising redevelopment was vital but needed to be balanced in order to go forward. He added: “When about 8000 projects are stuck in Mumbai due to timeline issues, there is a need to disseminate knowledge and information to educate the society members and other stakeholders about the processes of redevelopment to be followed and acquaint them with various Acts, Regulations, RERA guidelines, Court orders, etc that are necessary to understand.”
At the outset, NAREDCO Maharashtra cooperated with Chatterjee to form the ‘Grihamony Redevelopment Stakeholders Federations (GRSF)’ for Redevelopment Awareness.
Dr. Niranjan Hiranandani, Chairman of NAREDCO and Co-Founder of the Hiranandani Group, called for a reduction in the premium for redevelopment. He stated, “The problem is to match the rate of rebuilding. A drop in premium would result in more affordable housing in the city, hence at least a 50% reduction in premium is required. “Redevelopment should provide aspirations for a higher quality of life”.
Rajan Bandelkar, Vice Chairman of NAREDCO and Director of Raunak Group, stated, “It is critical to balance viability for the private sector in undertaking rebuilding projects. The government should incentivise societies that invest in themselves and consume less foreign direct investment. People who use less FSI should not pay a premium, given the climate change challenge and the concerns surrounding the redevelopment ambition.”
Source: The Free Press Journal
