subject: Unfavourable Policies Of The Govt To Affordable Homes [print this page] With the cost of house increasing, the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI) a developers body blamed the state government for not boosting measures to create an affordable housing stock, including homes planned jointly between MCHI and the government.
MCHI Credai as known on joining hands with the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India (Credai), said two years after a deal to construct 5 lakh homes as the government hasnt amended development rules and provided incentives nor set up a nodal agency to handle approvals through a single window clearance system to clear projects. Overall objective of the initiative was to go for construction so as to address the wide open housing demand supply gap and to provide an affordable residential property in Mumbai to the EWS, LIG and MIG groups these plan was to roll out in 60 days.
As Mumbai has emerged as the costliest real estate market, senior government officials said the developers argument is based on half-truths. Today the real issue is developers do not want the state to implement the Centres scheme of compulsorily reserving 20% in 2,000 sq mts vacant plot for low-cost housing. The state to implement the incentive-based Mhada scheme wherein a developer gets a FSI of 1.75 against 1.5 earlier and also gets higher cost of Rs. 6,000 a sq ft for construction of every low-cost apartment constructed for Mhada.
Developers has been clearly told that the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) and not the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority would be the nodal agency. As the legislative revamp to boost an affordable residential property in Mumbai is concerned, as they were on the verge of finalizing an incentive-based public private partnership scheme wherein lieu of sharing private land with Mhada and the developer will get 1.75 Floor Space Index against 1.5 Floor Space Index earlier.
They were going to issue final notification for the scheme, the centre issued guidelines under Rajiv Awaz Yojana wherein developers have to compulsory reserve 20% in 2,000 sq mts plot for low-cost housing. As state naturally preferred the centres scheme and putting the Mhada scheme on the backburner. Developers naturally have not liked the governments move as the Mhada scheme is more beneficial than the centres compulsory scheme.
Real Estate prices have hit the roof of property in Mumbai, the state government is looking at options to boost the affordable housing stock and also considering modification in laws to bring in more affordable property in Mumbai. Private developers selling residential property in Mumbai at outrageous rates, the state administration is weighing the prospect of increasing its share in churning out an affordable property in Mumbai. Private developers who are assigned residential plots that exceed 2,000 square meters surrender a portion of permissible FSI to state housing board.
FSI is the ratio of built-up space to the total plot area. Directives have already been issued in year 2011 for a 25% reservation in such projects for low and middle-income housing. These directives failed to specify the price at which the developers should sell these houses.
