Private landowners are wary of selling land to Mhada

Mhada’s ambitious plan to buy land from private landowners in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) seems to have failed.

Mhada’s ambitious plan to buy land from private landowners in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) seems to have failed.

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MMR covers Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Raigad district. The Maharashtra housing area development authority (Mhada) planned to get private land to construct affordable houses for the city.

Of the 15 proposals received as part of this plan, not one has come from Mumbai or Thane and most of them are from the far-flung Raigad district.

“Landlords are not finding it lucrative to sell it to us. They prefer private builders,” said Bhuasaheb Dangade, Mhada’s chief officer (Konkan Board). The problem stems from the fact that Mhada pays on the basis of ready reckoner rates while private players pay according to the market price.

Mhada has rejected all the 15 proposals as they are either in a non-developmental zone or have developmental restrictions placed on them. According to Mhada officials who do not wish to be named, black money transactions were also hurting the scheme. “Landlords prefer to conduct a major part of the transaction in black, which is not possible with Mhada,” said the official.