Sanjeev Jaiswal, IAS, the vice president and chief executive officer of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), has instructed officials to expedite the completion of 17 slum rehabilitation projects being carried out in partnership with the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA). Jaiswal stressed the necessity of concerted efforts to expedite the tendering process, administrative clearances, and slum dweller eligibility verification, according to a press release from MHADA that was picked up by news agency ANI.
To revive stalled redevelopment projects across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, MHADA and SRA are working together on these 17 projects. Eight of these have already been removed from their original developers under Section 13(2) of the Slum Rehabilitation Act. The projects include 12 in Goregaon, two in Bandra, five in Kurla, and two in the Borivali-Dahisar region. Feasibility studies for five more projects are currently in progress. All these developments are situated on land owned by MHADA.
MHADA wants to build over 25,000 more dwelling units as part of these redevelopment projects. The removal of ineligible slum dwellers from the projects was another topic of discussion during a review conference. The largest of these is the Malvani Malad rehabilitation, which includes 14,000 slum inhabitants. Jaiswal gave officials instructions to deploy more personnel and perform a biometric census of every resident to expedite the process. Additionally, a systematic timeframe for completing biometric surveys on MHADA-owned land has been established, and urgent measures have been requested to enhance access roads to project locations.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra government has reaffirmed its commitment to providing affordable housing, with a target of constructing 100,000 homes through MHADA in the next two years. Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced that a new housing policy would soon be introduced to support this goal, focusing on housing solutions for ordinary citizens, working women, students, and senior citizens.
Speaking at the inaugural of a computerised lottery for 3,662 apartments under several MHADA housing plans in Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, and Solapur, Shinde emphasised the tremendous response, pointing out that 71,642 applications had been received. He promised that there would be no quality sacrifices and that the allocation process would continue to be fair and transparent. The faith in MHADA’s housing projects will be strengthened as the chosen candidates will promptly obtain their apartments.
Source: MSN
