MHADA serves developers notices for defaulting on payments worth 110 crore

It's time for about 45 developers of the city to face the consequences of what they have been doing time and again. The Maharashtra Housing Area and Development Authority (MHADA) has served them notices for defaulting on payments for the transit camps they have taken on rent for various projects. The authority, which awaits payment of '110 crore, has even warned the developers that if they fail to pay up, then their bank accounts may be attached for recovery.

Developers of transit camps have been defaulting on payments for years. File pic

According to sources, MHADA has about 22,000 transit camps of which 3,000 have been given on rent to developers for accommodating those who have been rehabilitated under slum development schemes. While some of the developers have refused to pay owing to an ongoing dispute, the others have been defaulting on the payments for years.

The authority has already issued reminder and show-cause notices to the developers, but they are yet to pay the pending amounts. The MHADA has also issued stop work notices for the projects that they are handling. However, sources said that if the authority fails to recover the payments this way, then it might be forced to attach the properties of the defaulters.

A MHADA official said that it was difficult to recover the amounts, because if the developers were removed from the transit camps, then the tenants would have to pay the money. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior MHADA official said, "We are trying to solve the issue, but the problem is that the amounts keep increasing over time. The developers have to pay both the interest and penalty over and above the actual rent." Meanwhile, some of the transit camps of MHADA are also facing issues related to ineligible tenants.

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