Redevelopment order for 56 Mhada colonies

The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) has issued a diktat to residents of its 56 colonies to undertake redevelopment of the premises at the earliest.

The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) has issued a diktat to residents of its 56 colonies to undertake redevelopment of the premises at the earliest. It was also decided at the Mhada board meeting on Wednesday that in case societies failed to adhere to the order, Mhada would step in and do the job itself.

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The reason being that the authority has a sparse land bank of just 5 acres in its kitty, Mhada sees good potential for creating low cost houses in these colonies that are spread over 1,000 hectares across the city.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, Amarjeet Singh Manhas, chairman, Mhada (Mumbai Board), said speeding up the revamp process was one of the authority’s top priorities. “The existing residents can move to bigger homes with improved amenities, while we can generate a healthy housing stock for us,” Manhas said.

Though the deadline has still not been decided, officials say it could range from between 12 to 18 months.

The huge colonies are located in areas like Vikhroli, Goregaon, Ghatkopar, Gorai, Chembur and Sion.

The meeting also demanded that Mhada insist on houses instead of giving developers the option of paying the premium amount. “The need of the hour is low-cost houses as people cannot afford houses from private builders,” said Virendra Upadhyay, a senior Mhada board member.

Mhada also offers an incentive floor space index of 2.5 in all its projects, which is a great hit among builders.

Currently there are more than 2 lakh residents staying in 3,701 buildings constructed by the housing board till date. In the last two years, there have been 409 revamp proposals submitted to Mhada, of which just 116 have got the green signal. “This figure is very low and needs to be increased quickly,” Manhas said.