आम मुंबईकर को चाहिये एक छोटा सा घर

आम मुंबईकर को चाहिये एक छोटा सा घर
MUMBAI: In what appears to be a ray of hope for the average Mumbaikar waiting to buy a home in the city, Mhada may soon form joint ventures with private developers to construct low- and middle-income group projects on private land. Real estate players, facing a slowdown in sales due to the economic crisis, may find Mhadas partnership offer lucrative to stay afloat. Sources in the government said Mhadas offer for joint ventures stems from the land crunch it faces in Mumbai. Most of the open land Mhada had was either used up or encroached upon, leading to long-winding litigation. In these circumstances, the Mhada authorities believe they need to locate private land to develop mass housing schemes in Mumbai. To this effect, Mhada has sought amendment to Section 33(5) of the Development Control Rules, which specifically deal with the agencys land. A state official says it is proposed that Mhada or an agency (read developer) appointed by it should be allowed construction over private open land with a higher FSI of 2.5. Incidentally, chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh on Monday explicitly invited private developers to partner with state agencies to create mass housing stock. Deshmukh said the state wanted to construct at least 10 lakh affordable homes in Mumbai and other big cities of Maharashtra. Gautam Chatterjee, vice-president and CEO of Mhada, confirmed the proposal to join hands with private developers to construct mass housing projects at reasonable rates. "Mhada will offer higher FSI for the entire plot of the private developer as its equity for the project. In return, Mhada will get LIG and MIG flats built by the developer on 60% land while the developer can reserve building rights over the remaining 40% space,'' he said. Explaining the proposal, Chatterjee said if a developer came up with a 10-acre plot, then the LIG and MIG flats with Mhada specifications would come up on 6 acres. Mhada will allot these flats right from the construction stage instead of handing over the keys post-completion. The marketing will be similar to private schemes, enabling the buyer to get involved in the construction right from the start, he said. The private builder will have the right to construct premium flats on the remaining 4 acres, said officials. Officials in the state urban development department said Mhada's joint venture project could pass through only if the amendment to Section 33(5) was cleared. "We have received close to 390 suggestions and objections to the proposed amendment. We hope the amendment comes through as it will help in the construction of mass housing stock to a large extend,'' said a department official