MHADA to take the help of private developers to build affordable homes

In a bid to achieve its target of building 20 lakh affordable houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) by 2020, the Maharashtra Housing Area and Development Authority (MHADA) announced on Friday that it would take the help of private developers for the project.

Tenders issued
The authority has issued a tender, inviting developers to execute the project in Aurangabad, on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis. However, MHADA is still not sure about the scheme's feasibility in Mumbai. According to sources, through the PPP mode, the developers would construct 50 per cent of the houses for the economically weaker section and lower income groups, which would be sold under PMAY. This will in turn help the developers get subsidy from the government and discounts on development charges.

Space crunch
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a MHADA official said, "The feasibility of the project in Mumbai is yet to be ascertained, as there is a lot of space crunch. No PMAY project has been planned in the city so far." However, other officials said that the project would be really beneficial for other cities like Nagpur, Pune and Nashik.

Further, apart from the PPP model through which the developers would construct 50 per cent of the houses, MHADA would also give its plots on long lease to the developers with a condition that the rates at which the houses are sold are fixed by it.

20 lakh
Total no. of houses MHADA aims to construct by 2020

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, current affairs from Mumbai, local news, crime news and breaking headlines here

Download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go