PM to inaugurate biggest housing project for EWS in Solapur next month

The project at Raynagar in Solapur is spread over 100 acres and comprises 30,000 homes, of which 15,000 have already been built, Maharashtra’s additional chief secretary Valsa Nair Singh said. The project falls under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and is being executed by MHADA

Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be inaugurating the largest housing project for economically weaker sections at Solapur next month, a senior government official said on Friday.

Mumbai, India - January 19, 2023: Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis launches projects from MMRDA Grounds, at Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), Bandra (East), in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, January 19, 2023. (Photo by Satish Bate/Hindustan Times) (Satish Bate/HT PHOTO)

The project at Raynagar in Solapur is spread over 100 acres and comprises 30,000 homes, of which 15,000 have already been built, Maharashtra’s additional chief secretary Valsa Nair Singh said. The project falls under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and is being executed by MHADA.

The 300 sq ft homes have been constructed for beneficiaries like unorganised workers, textile and beedi workers, construction workers etc and families with annual income of less than rupees three lakh will be eligible.

“The biggest economically weaker section housing scheme is now in the final stages of being built at a place called Raynagar in Solapur. PM Modi is coming next month to inaugurate it,” said Singh. She said sustainability was not a subject limited to luxury housing, but should be implemented across categories like in the Solapur project.

The 1991-batch IAS officer said the housing department has been working on formulating a new housing policy and has been meeting different stakeholders including developer bodies to take their suggestions before finalising a draft that will be put in the public domain for suggestions, objections.

The focus on the new policy will be on affordable housing, smarter and sustainable homes. It will also incentivise construction of homes for specific segments like senior citizens and students.

Singh said cluster development has been found to be a better model for large developments and the government has initiated the urban renewal scheme for Dharavi’s redevelopment for which MOU signing will take place soon. She said Kamathipura is also being developed as a single cluster over 28 acres, and by the end of the year, 10 such cluster developments will be initiated.