At the 2nd Redevelopment Conference and Investors Summit hosted by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), Sanjeev Jaiswal, IAS, Vice President and Chief Executive Officer (VP & CEO), announced a significant policy reform aimed at fast-tracking the redevelopment of old cessed buildings in Mumbai. Under this new directive, proposals submitted under Section 79A (1a) or 79A (1b) that are supported by at least 51% tenant consent will now receive a No Objection Certificate (NOC) within six weeks.
The approval process will be brought under the purview of the Right to Service Act, and in the event of any delay beyond the prescribed timeframe, the NOC will be treated as deemed approved—marking a crucial step in removing bureaucratic bottlenecks and accelerating redevelopment activity.
The conference, held at the MIG Club in Bandra (East), was attended by several prominent leaders from the real estate sector and housing policy circles. Notable attendees included Boman R. Irani, Chairman CREDAI National and Chairman and Managing Director of Rustomjee Group; Domnic Romell, President of CREDAI-MCHI and Managing Director of Romell Group; Gautam Chatterjee, Former Chairman of MahaRERA and Former Housing Secretary of the Government of Maharashtra; Dr. Niranjan Hiranandani, Co-Founder and Managing Director of the Hiranandani Group and Chairman of NAREDCO; Prashant Sharma, President of NAREDCO Maharashtra; and Rajan Bandelkar, President of NAREDCO India and Director of Raunak Group, among several other stakeholders from across the industry.
In his address, Jaiswal shared MHADA’s vision of enabling the construction of eight lakh affordable homes across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) over the next five years, a goal he believes is achievable if all stakeholders fulfil their roles responsibly. MHADA has committed an investment of Rs 6,609 crore towards this effort, while developers are expected to contribute an estimated Rs 1.28 lakh crore. Redevelopment of key clusters such as GTB Nagar, Abhyudaya Nagar, Motilal Nagar, and the BDD Chawls has been identified as a top priority.
The event also served as a platform to introduce a series of policy reforms intended to further incentivise redevelopment. Among them is the provision of Floor Space Index (FSI) up to 3.00 or a combination of rehabilitation and incentive FSI ranging between 75% and 100%, applicable to both cessed and non-cessed structures.
MHADA also announced that surplus tenements generated under Section 33(9) can now be used for transit accommodation without requiring prior offers to the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) or the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA). Another reform includes calculating premiums for clubbed schemes based on the smaller of the plot areas involved.
Additionally, developers can look forward to financial incentives such as a 13% reduction in interest rates, instalment-based premium payments, and Goods and Services Tax (GST) relaxation on the rehabilitation component.
A major announcement was MHADA’s decision to act as the nodal agency for affordable rental housing across the region. The proposed initiatives include the creation of a Rental Housing Index, a 100% income tax exemption on rental income for a period of ten years, and the allocation of underutilised MHADA land for rental housing projects.
The conference also highlighted inclusive housing strategies, such as fixing tenement prices at 125% of the Departmental Schedule of Rates (DSR) and implementing new land management rules to prevent the subdivision of plots smaller than 4,000 square metres.
The ambitious MMR Growth Hub initiative, another focal point of the conference, aims to facilitate the development of 7.82 lakh housing units under a model where 60% of the units are sold and 40% are provided as free rehabilitation. Each unit is expected to cost an average of Rs 50 lakh. In alignment with these efforts, MHADA has identified approximately 13,000 cessed buildings for potential redevelopment, underscoring the scale of transformation envisioned.
Concluding his address, Jaiswal urged all stakeholders to take a collective pledge—to ensure that every project they undertake is completed on time, that homes are delivered as promised, and that the interests of residents, particularly those awaiting rehabilitation, are never compromised. His call to action emphasised accountability, transparency, and the shared responsibility of transforming Mumbai’s housing landscape in a timely and inclusive manner.
