Maha mulling rollback of its decision to allot flats to legislators

State housing minister Jitendra Awhad had on March 24 announced that 300 flats are being built in Goregaon on a plot owned by Mhada for the legislators elected from outside MMR

Mumbai: After widespread criticism, the state government is mulling a rollback of its decision to give low-cost Mhada flats to legislators. Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday said that after receiving the flak, it was not sure whether the state will go ahead with its decision.

Following widespread criticism, the housing minister had clarified that the flats will not be free and will cost ₹70 lakh. (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT Photo)

“The decision was criticized by the people, especially on social media after which Pawar saheb (NCP chief) reacted to it. Nana Patole (state Congress chief) also cleared his party’s stand. The chief minister will take a decision. However, if a decision is creating any misunderstanding then it may be rolled back. I cannot confirm this yet but it may not happen,” Pawar told reporters at NCP headquarters on Thursday.

State housing minister Jitendra Awhad had on March 24 announced that 300 flats are being built in Goregaon on a plot owned by Mhada for the legislators elected from outside Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). He said that the plot has been identified and the Mhada will take responsibility for the construction of High Income Group (HIG) flats.

Following widespread criticism, the housing minister had clarified that the flats will not be free and will cost ₹70 lakh. He also said that flats will be allotted only to those lawmakers who don’t own a house in MMR.

In a tweet in Marathi on March 25, Awhad said, “There is a lot of uproar over the flats announced for the legislators. But let me clarify, the flats will cost around ₹70 lakh, including the cost of land and the construction cost. They will have to bear the cost.”

Pawar said that the controversy arose due to misunderstanding as the housing minister did not specifically mention that the cost will have to be borne by the legislators while announcing the decision in the state Assembly.

“The decision sent a wrong message among people at large because of a misunderstanding. It appeared that the state will be giving the flats for free which is not true. No house will be given for free to legislators. They will have to pay the price of the flat determined by Mhada,” Pawar said.

Further, only those legislators will be eligible for the scheme who don’t own a house in MMR, he clarified.

NCP chief had on March 28 had opposed the decision. “It was taken by the MVA government but in my personal opinion they should not construct houses for the legislators, instead a separate quota should be created for legislators in houses constructed by Mhada,” Sharad Pawar had said.