CM Uddhav Thackeray clears separate SRAs for MMR, key cities in Maharashtra

MUMBAI: Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday approved setting up of a separate Slum Rehabilitation Authority for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, excluding Mumbai, and one more for other important cities across Maharashtra. Pune already has its own SRA. The other cities include Nagpur, Aurangabad and Nashik.

This has been done to reduce the workload and enable decentralization for faster implementation of the free housing scheme, said housing minister Jitendra Awhad.

The meeting, held at the Sahyadri state guest house, was attended by urban development minister Eknath Shinde, transport minister Anil Parab and chief secretary Sanjay Kumar, among others.

The CM also approved setting up of a stress fund to help slum redevelopment projects stalled on account of lack of finances. The money will be raised through banks, which would decide on the disbursal. Awhad said the government was already in talks with banks for stress fund for two SRA projects in Thane.

Thackeray had earlier rejected a proposal to put a ceiling on the rent to be paid to slum dwellers by builders, depending on a slum's location. It has been decided the rent would be negotiated between the two parties.

The government has set a target to construct 3.8 lakh homes over the next two years.

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For this, the intimation of disapproval (permission to the developer for construction) will now be issued within seven days of the letter of intent being issued. The submission of consent of 51% of the slum dwellers for the redevelopment project need not be submitted prior to the letter of intent. The condition is being relaxed and consent can be submitted before issuance of the commencement certificate. Files will now be cleared at three levels instead of six earlier.

Awhad said no slum project will henceforth be stayed by any agency other than the courts. A centralized agency at the SRA will issue Annexure II (eligibility of free housing). Currently, it involves the BMC, SRA and the collector's office.

While earlier the cut-off date for free housing was January 1, 1995, it was later extended to January 1, 2000. Slum dwellers post-2000 will need to pay a transfer fee (construction cost) for a house in a scheme. For this, the cut-off date is January 2011.