Virars low-cost rental plan to house 1L families ……..Ashley DMello
Mumbai: The governments low-cost rental housing scheme took a leap forward with the announcement of a mega infrastructure project for housing 1.33 lakh families on a 525-acre site, west of Virar station.
The project, a joint effort between the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority and Housing Development and Infrastructure (HDIL), will deliver 43,000 lowcost rental units with a minimum area of 160 square feet; but 90,000 larger units will be sold at market rates.
The first 10,000 units to be rented out by the MMRDA would be ready by March 2010, said MMRDA commissioner Ratnakar Gaikwad.
HDIL managing director Sarang Wadhawan said the affordable housing project would service middle and lower-income groups. The total project cost will come to Rs 6,500 crore, which will be spent over six years. The project is ready to begin as all the work on the ground in terms of permissions is already done,
Gaikwad said. This was the largest rental project in the region since independence and would go a long way in preventing slums from springing up, he added.
The MMRDA scheme envisages building five lakh lowcost rental units in the region to cater to low-income group. We are building the units to cater to families that earn Rs 5,000 a month, he said.
Preference will be given to domiciled Maharashtrians and monthly rents will be anything from Rs 800 to Rs 1400, he added.
Gaikwad said the MMRDA would be providing off-site infrastructure for the project, like roads from the highway to the site, water and electricity. It would also build a skywalk from the site to the railway station, he assured.
MMRDA officials said lowcost rental projects were also coming up in Vasai, Karjat, Thane and Bhivandi.
SUBURBAN REALTY
The other low-cost housing projects by MMRDA
* Tanaji Malusare City in Karjat will have 6,000 low-cost rental units
SUBURBAN REALTY
The other low-cost housing projects by MMRDA
* Tanaji Malusare City in Karjat will have 6,000 low-cost rental units
* Nirmal Lifestyle in Kalyan will have 35,863 low-cost rental units
* Ecohomes Townships in Bhivandi will have 4,583 low-cost rental units
* Dhanashree Developers is building 10,115 low-cost rental units in Vasai