New Page 17
Now, get ready for slum-rehab civic body style
By Clara Lewis/TNN 5 April 05
Mumbai: For builders who have fattened themselves on government-floated
cross-subsidy schemes, another bonanza is on the way. This time it’s the BMC
that’s all set to float its very own version of the state government’s Slum
Rehabilitation Scheme (SRS).
Under the new scheme—prompted by an acute shortage of houses for BMC
employees—builders can buy plots at a premium from the civic body. These plots
have been earmarked for staff quarters or allotment to cooperative housing
societies of civic employees and houses for those displaced by public projects.
The BMC will get 40 per cent of the total flats constructed, while the rest will
be sold in the open market. The BMC will thus get around 20,000 quarters for its
employees.
Although the scheme is yet to get the green signal from the state government,
builders are already queuing up with their proposals at the BMC headquarters.
According to civic sources, some builders have come armed with recommendations
from politicians.
The interest is obvious, given the mega profits that the scheme offers. Under
the Development Control Regulations, builders can use a floor space index (FSI)
of 4 on land reserved for project-affected people. In the case of land reserved
for municipal housing and staff quarters, however, the FSI is only 1, the normal
FSI permitted in the city. What is even more interesting is the fact that the
developer will be allowed to use transfer of development rights (TDR) in the
suburbs. This means the developer will be able to put up relatively big
buildings on plots where it would normally not be possible to do so.
In the SRA scheme, the builder has to rehabilitate slum dwellers free of cost
and, in lieu of this, gets an FSI of 2.5, which he can sell for profit. The
BMC’s version is more attractive because builders can buy vacant plots with no
burden of rehabilitation.
The move has been prompted by the acute housing shortage being faced by BMC
employees (the waiting list is around 4,000). Joint municipal commissioner
Satish Bhide said that the scheme, if approved, would create around 20,000
quarters for its employees.
The state had amended the Development Control Rules in 2001 to allow private
participation in housing for municipal employees. The BMC had so far not framed
any guidelines to implement this. At present, it has around 17,500 quarters, a
majority of which are occupied by employees who have retired from service.
Tulsiwadi Revisited
The new scheme is a variation of an earlier housing one implemented by the BMC
under the Urban Renewal Scheme at Tulsiwadi, Tardeo. Tulsiwadi, a sprawling
78,000 sq ft of municipal land, was encroached upon by 2,600 slum-dwellers and
housed 725 tenements of the conservancy staff. The scheme required the builder
to construct a 110-ft road and clear the storm water drains of hutments. After
rehabilitating the slum-dwellers and constructing tenements for the conservancy
staff, the builder was allowed to exploit a portion of the land commercially.
The quarters were ultimately provided to the conservancy staff on ownership
basis.
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