All redevelopment flats to be minimum 300 sq ft

Mumbai: After ending the deadlock over the redevelopment of 388 dilapidated MHADA buildings in Mumbai, the state government is now planning to bring in a uniformity in the rules to extend the benefits given to the MHADA colony residents to everyone. The new policy will ensure that all citizens, even if their flats are less than 300 square feet, will nevertheless get a minimum area of 300 square feet when their buildings are redeveloped.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had earlier ordered the administration to give the 388 MHADA flat owners the benefits of Development Control Rule 33(7). MHADA had redeveloped the 388 buildings three to four decades ago by demolishing around 900 old and dilapidated buildings, with 27,373 flats, in the island city. The state government’s urban development department (UDD) is now working on the formula and rules to allow them to be redeveloped a second time under 33(7).

“Free homes of at least 300 square feet in redevelopment projects are given to residents living in cessed buildings (private buildings which pay cess for repairs and maintenance to MHADA),” said a UDD officer. “CM Shinde had earlier announced in the monsoon session that the government would extend the benefits of this scheme to the residents of 388 buildings built by MHADA. But there are other buildings too in Mumbai, and instead of taking new decisions for different buildings, we are planning to take a policy decision once and for all. This new decision will ensure free houses of minimum 300 square feet to all Mumbai residents currently living in 100-to-200-square-feet homes in old buildings.”

Meanwhile, a MHADA Sangharsh Kruti Samiti delegation led by former Congress MLA Madhu Chavan also met the UDD additional chief secretary Aseemkumar Gupta and demanded that while issuing the decision regarding the redevelopment of 388 buildings, the process of redevelopment should be done under 33 (7). The story behind this is that CM Shinde had announced in the assembly that the buildings would get all the benefits of DC 33(7) but the administration had later vetoed the idea.

“Last month, the administration held a meeting regarding the redevelopment of 388 MHADA buildings and offered a new formula where builders would get 10 percent less incentive FSI than is allowed in 33 (7),” said Chavan. “We pointed out that the CM announced the 33(7) decision on the floor of the legislative assembly so the administration should stick to that.” Chavan added that Gupta assured them that the decision would be taken in accordance with Shinde’s announcement, and while issuing new orders, other buildings too would be given the benefit of the decision.