Demand for white paper on revamp plans

The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) is all set to conduct a reality check on the redevelopment plans of its colonies in view of the intense competition among developers to secure developmental rights.

The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) is all set to conduct a reality check on the redevelopment plans of its colonies in view of the intense competition among developers to secure developmental rights. On Tuesday, the Mumbai board of the authority will deliberate on the issue and demand a white paper. Mhada has 56 colonies spread across the city and considering their huge layouts; they are very popular among developers due to the large profits.

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For instance, at the 34-acre Abhudaya Nagar, Kalachowkie, residents staying in 220 sq ft rooms are being promised 750 sq ft apartments along with a corpus amount to ensure lifetime zero maintenance.

Virendra Upadhyaya, senior member, Mhada (Mumbai board), said the concern of the members is to protect the tenants. “We have no problem with the tenants getting bigger houses but there have to be checks to ensure that they are not taken for a ride”, said Upadhyaya.

Even the Maharashtra Chambers for Housing Industry (MCHI) said the state should come out with standardised mechanism. “There is utter confusion and no logic in these revamp process,” said Sunil Mantri, president, MCHI.