OBSCURE LAW IS A WINDFALL
State gifts 6 builders 500 acres of slum land….Nauzer K Bharucha
Plots Devpt Potential Is.50,000 Crore
State gifts 6 builders 500 acres of slum land….Nauzer K Bharucha
Plots Devpt Potential Is.50,000 Crore
Mumbai: The state government used a little-known rule in the Slum Act to hand over almost 500 acres of slum pockets to six developers on a first-come-first-served basis between 2008 and 2010.Property experts said these plots of lands had a development potential of about Rs 50,000 crore.Five hundred acres is equivalent to 23 Oval Maidans.
Under Section 3K of the Slum Act,a builder who is the first claimant on the slum land gets to redevelop it.However,the issue here is of lack of transparency and awarding such projects without checking the credentials of the developer, said a senior government official who did not wish to be identified.
The controversial section does not require the developer to obtain the mandatory 70% consent of slum dwellers in the initial stages.This has led to fights between rival builders,court cases and allegations of nepotism,said government sources.
The clause empowers the government to direct the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) to hand over a large slum cluster for redevelopment to a builder without inviting tenders or allowing competing builders to participate in the project, said the official.
TOI has learnt that the latest slum sprawl47 acres in Chemburwas sanctioned by the state government a month before Prithviraj Chavan took over as chief minister last November.Official sources said the new CM was apprised of the controversial 3K clause,which they said was being used to gift select builders vast slum clusters for redevelopment.They added that the son of a Union minister is involved in one of the projects approved by the government.
MUMBAI FOR SALE
* 3K is a provision introduced in the Slum Act in 1999
* It empowers the state govt to direct the slum rehab body to appoint a single builder for effective implementation of the Slum Act.It is used to develop large slum layouts and implement development plan reservations,including roads,gardens,playgrounds,schools and hospitals
* Since 70% of slum dwellers consent is not required in initial stages,experts say the rule allows the state govt to favour a particular builder
* Rs 50,000 crore is the development potential of the slum land given away between 2008 and 2010
LAND GRAB with fiat
Little-Known Provision Of Slum Rehabilitation Act Was Dormant For A Decade Until 2008
In the last two years,the government has used a little known provision of the Slum Rehabilitation Act to grant about 500 acres of slum land with a development potential of Rs 50,000 crore to six developers.
The provision,section 3K,was inserted in the act in 1999,but was not used for almost a decade,when in August 2008 a 123-acre slum development scheme at Golibar,Santa Cruz,was approved by the government.The builders were Shivalik Ventures.
A section of slum dwellers sought legal stoppage of the project,but the Bombay high court cleared it towards the end of last year.Ten days ago,violent protests broke out when some Golibar residents blocked a demolition squad.
Officials said that once the government appoints a builder for a scheme,other developers in the slum cluster lose their right on the project or have to work in consultation with the selected builder.Once the builder gets a foothold in the project,he can procure 70% consent from slum dwellers within a year, an official said.
Housing expert Chandrashekhar Prabhu said 3K allows the government to appoint any developer to redevelop a slum under the pretext of public purpose and force residents to accept the building firm as they are not left with any other choice.
Documents available with this newspaper reveal that in one 3K project approved by the government,the developer had the consent of residents of 18 acres of a 66-acre slum sprawl.
The developer asked the government to direct the Slum Rehabilitation Authority not to entertain and approve a proposal for any other developer on any slum pocket on piecemeal basis on the land.The developer has stated that 70% consent of slum dwellers may not be insisted on before the letter of intent (LOI) is granted, a letter from the Slum Rehabilitation Authority said.
Slum activist Simpreet Singh said 3K was never used all these years.But two years ago,the government suddenly decided to give vast tracts of slum land to some builders without inviting tenders.This is land grab in the name of rehabilitating slum dwellers.
He said that at Antop Hill,the government approved a project by developer Ackruti City to redevelop land which belongs to the salt department.The department did not give permission,yet the state sanctioned the scheme.
Vimal Shah of Ackruti said the land belonged to the state government,but a note by the Slum Rehabilitation Authority said it belonged to the Sion salt pan division,with a total area of 90 acres.We are currently procuring approvals.There are some 18,000 slum dwellers,but 50% area is reserved for open spaces and only 30 to 35 acres are developable, Shah said.It will be a composite development with lots of open spaces.
In Kandivli (East),the governments decision to give away over 100 acres to Ruchipriya Developers led to rival developers approaching the high court.Last year,the court directed the Slum Rehabilitation Authority to consider redevelopment proposals from other builders and pass appropriate orders.
Kiran Hemani of Ruchipriya said the company had obtained consent from 7,000 slum dwellers of Hanumant Nagar.We have worked on this project for the past eight years.Some bad elements tried to create problems.
At Worli,a 3K project executed by Lokhandwala Infrastructure is under litigation,after some residents went to court saying the developer did not have their consent.In 2009,the then civic chief Jairaj Phatak wrote to the state housing department seeking forcible eviction of non-cooperative slum dwellers and the handover of the 15-acre plot to the developer.
Residents of the largest chunk of the Worli plot have said they are tenants of the municipal corporation and have regular rent receipts and that they cannot be categorized as slum dwellers;hence 3K cannot be applied on them.
SECTION 3K
This section,introduced in the Slum Rehabilitation Act in 1999,effectively empowers the state government to direct the Slum Rehabilitation Authority to appoint a single builder on slum development projects.The section is used to develop large slum layouts and development plan reservations,which include roads, gardens, playgrounds, schools and hospitals