CM not keen to lower Mhada house rates

Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has rejected the Nationalist Congress Party’s suggestion to reduce the rate of flats constructed by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada).

Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has rejected the Nationalist Congress Party’s suggestion to reduce the rate of flats constructed by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada).

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Chavan said that Mhada’s accounts were open for public scrutiny, and that it was clear it did not make much profit on the flats it sold.

“Mhada makes negligible profits in the business of providing affordable flats. Its rates are already 40 per cent less than the commercial real estate market,” Chavan told reporters on Monday.

He said he has asked Mhada to create a land bank for constructing more housing. “I’m told that 2.25 lakh houses are locked in Mumbai, and this is what is creating a shortage of housing,” he said.

He, however, did not explain whether Mhada would be able to sell flats at rates lower than the current prices, especially after the agency buys land at commercial rates.