IE: MHADA has given the green signal to 391 redevelopment projects: March 25, 2008

 

RESIDENTS of the ground-plus-two storeyed buildings at Ramkrishna Nagar in Khar still remember the time a few years ago when a developer had offered them 10 per cent more area and a corpus amount of Rs 1 lakh if they were willing to strike a deal with him for redevelopment of their buildings.

Today, they are sitting on an incredible offer of 150 per cent increase in their current carpet area and a corpus amount of Rs 24 lakh to 52 lakh per flat. The developer has also agreed to pay each family up to Rs 50,000 towards rent for their transit accommodation.

Over the last six months, several big developers have expressed their keenness to take up the project. The going will only get better as many of them are yet to put forward their offers.

Bang on SV Road, this cluster of buildings with sprawling playgrounds is at a five-minute walking distance from Khar station. The USP of this prime piece of land, however, is that it’s a Low In- come Group colony on a plot belonging to the Maharashtra Housing and Area Develop- ment Authority (MHADA).

Like Ramkrishna Nagar, there are about 104 MHADA colonies (of which 56 are on larger plots) spread over 1,500 hectares of land. A majority of the 5,000-odd buildings on these plots are headed for a rash of redevel- opment projects as builders are goading resi- dents with staggering offers.

Between 2000 and 2005, MHADA has given the green signal to 391 redevelopment projects in these colonies. Officials admit that this figure is expected to increase manifold as a windfall awaits developers who take up these plots.

With a high Floor Space Index (FSI) of up to 2.4, most MHADA plots have a lot of unutilsed FSI. And if this was not good enough, a proposal to increase the FSI to 2.5 and a maximum of 3.5 in particularly difficult projects is likely to be approved by the state government anytime now.

According to Ramesh Prabhu from the Maharashtra Societies Welfare Association, another largesse that makes these plots re ally lucrative is the fact MHADA offers its FSI at a rate much lower that the market rates for Transfer of Development Rights (TDR). “TDR rates are presently touching an all time high of Rs 3,500 per sq foot and above whereas MHADA FSI can be bought much cheaper. Almost every society on a MHADA plot is being approached by builders. It is time that the state laid down certain regulations on allowing only structurally unsound buildings or those over a certain age to be pulled down,” said Prabhu.

Already negotiations are on with residents in Pant Nagar in Ghatkopar, Kannamwar Nagar in Vikroli, Siddharth Nagar in Goregaon , DN Nagar in Andheri, Tilak Nagar in Chembur and the MHADA colonies in Bandra East, Bandra Kurla complex and Worli to name a few.

At Kannamwar Nagar-one of the largest MHADA colonies on a 65-hectare plot-de velopers are trying every trick in the bag to woo residents of the 150 buildings. While one developer has started sponsoring local cricket matches and events, another developer re cently hired a truck to do rounds of the area for a whole month. Mounted tantalizingly atop the truck was a glitzy model of what there developed colony would look like.

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