The code of conduct bars the announcement of key decisions after elections are declared. The polls will take place on 16 February, 2012 for the municipal corporations of Mumbai and 9 other cities.
Dharavi, a slum pocket spread over about 535 acres in central Mumbai, is home to about 60,000 families and businesses with an estimated turnover of $ 50-75 crore.
The units are engaged in the leather, garment, confectionery and bakery goods industries.
Mr. Prithviraj Chavan said, '' Work on Sector 5, one of the 5 sectors in the Dharavi redevelopment master plan, will be the first to start. A global tender will soon be floated for the project."
The MHADA (Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority) will be the nodal agency for the project.
The FSI (Floor Space index ), or the amount of construction permitted on a given parcel of land, has been increased to 4 from 2.5 to make the slum redevelopment project commercially viable. MHADA will commercially exploit the remaining FSI after rehabilitating about 9,000 families living in Sector 5.
The Maharashtra government has still not taken any decision on the remaining portion, which is largely private land.
Mr. Chavan also said, “We are studying all possible options like inviting global tenders and offering free FSI to developers for constructing the houses for Dharavi residents or, as some non-governmental organizations have suggested, allowing the residents themselves to build houses for themselves".
Under the Sector 5 development plan, residents will be given a 300 sq.ft house free of cost and they will have the option to buy another 100 sq. ft.
MHADA will also create a corpus fund for the maintainance of the buildings used for accommodating the slum dwellers from the profit generated by the extra FSI, so that for the first ten years, the slum dwellers do not have to pay for up keep.
Mr. Satish Gavai, Chief Executive, MHADA said, “We are aiming to complete the bidding process within two months and sign formal contracts with prospective winners“ .
Mr. Jockin Arputham, President, NSDF (National Slum Dwellers' Federation) said, .“This is not a greenfield operation but a brownfield one in which slum dwellers need to be involved in the process rather than relying on political power. MHADA is a housing body and does not have the expertise in slum redevelopment. I do not see the redevelopment process taking off anytime soon.“
The Maharashtra state government also announced amended DCRs (Development Control Rules) for Mumbai.
“This is an attempt to reduce discretionary powers of mu- nicipal authorities and bring more transparency in the real estate sector and reduce cor- ruption,“ Chavan said.
Real estate builders can now have 35% extra FSI for providing amenities such as flower beds, balconies, terraces, voids, niches, etc., in the case of residential projects and 20% in the case of industrial and commercial projects. However, for getting this extra FSI, developers will have to pay a 60% premium on ready reckoner prices in the case of residential projects and 80% and 100% for industrial and commercial projects, respectively.
At the beginning of every calendar year, the state government issues a detailed area wise list of property rates and stamp duty is charged on the basis of these ready reckoner prices or the actual value of the property transaction, whichever is higher. Earlier, granting the extra FSI for these facilities was at the discretion of municipal au authorities, which used to raise allegations of corruption and create an uneven playing field among developers.
Real estate builders also used to charge customers extra for providing these facilities but the municipal corporation and the state government did not benefit, Mr.Chavan said.
The amount collected through premiums will be equally divided between the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai and the Maharashtra state government, and used for the city's infrastructure projects.
In the last year, as the Maharashtra state government worked on amending the Development Control Regulations of 1991, most real estate projects in Mumbai have been stuck in the approval process.
Src: livemint
About MHADA..!
The Maharashtra Housing Board formerly called "Bombay Housing Board" was established in the year 1948 and had a jurisdiction over the entire State of Maharashtra except Vidharbha region. This body undertook construction of residential buildings under various housing schemes for different sections of the society.
The allotment and maintenance of these buildings was being looked after by it.On the reorganization of the State, the Vidharbha Housing Board was established in the year 1960 as a successor body to the erstwhile Madhya Pradesh Housing Board. Its functions were similar to those of the Maharashtra Housing Board, except that it also advanced loan to co-operative housing societies, institutions and local authorities for the construction of houses.
The Bombay Buildings Repairs and Reconstruction Board was constituted in the year 1971. It was created to deal with the problems faced by tenants residing in dilapidated buildings in the Island City of Bombay and undertook its structural repairs and reconstruction, so as to make them structurally sound and safe for habitation.
The Maharashtra Slum Improvement Board was constituted in the year 1974, with intention to provide basic amenities, such as water taps, drainage, pathways, latrines and streetlights etc. in slums. To begin with, its activities were confined to the Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban Districts. These activities were later extended to the other parts of the State.
Good that the project has started.Hope the project will get over without any interruptions
ReplyDelete