In a landmark decision, Maharashtra has decided to do away with free housing for slum dwellers and levy a construction cost of Rs 2.5 lakh for a house under the slum rehabilitation scheme.
The decision was taken on May 25, and it will be applicable for slum dwellings which came up in Maharashtra between 2000 and 2011. This comes ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Lok Sabha, and state assembly elections scheduled for next year.
The move is expected to benefit over 1 million families residing in slums, according to Maharashtra government officials.
The state and central governments will work out how the Rs 2.5 lakh will be linked with the PMAY scheme. Though details are not out yet, it is learnt that the money will not be completely waived off and slum dwellers may have to repay a portion of the assistance.
What was the earlier scheme?
According to existing provisions, slum dwellings constructed till January 1, 2000, were entitled for free housing under the rehabilitation scheme of the Maharashtra government, under the Slum Rehabilitation Act (SRA), 1995.
Under the SRA scheme, a private developer is given the rights to rehabilitate slum clusters. In lieu of rehabilitating slum dwellers in apartments of around 320 sq ft, the private developer would get additional floor space index (FSI) and could construct premium apartments to be sold in the open market.
FSI is the ratio on how tall a developer can build a particular building. Additional FSI means a developer can construct more homes.
What is the change now?
The Maharashtra government had intended to extend the cut-off date for eligible slum dwellers up to January 1, 2011. The Bombay High Court, however, expressed displeasure over continuing extensions.
After this, the government decided that it will provide houses to slum dwellers by charging a construction cost, with assistance from the central government’s Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) scheme.
This is in line with the central government's vision to provide housing for all citizens in India.
The Maharashtra government, vide a government resolution (GR) on May 25, announced a construction cost of Rs 2.5 lakh for slum dwellers (for slums that came up between 2000 and 2011). They will be given houses in apartments during the execution of slum rehabilitation scheme by private developers.
Speaking to reporters in Pune on May 25, Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said: "The Bombay High Court also had mentioned about it, and as per existing provisions, it was not possible to rehabilitate slum dwellers on constructions, post 2000. Hence, we took the decision to make them eligible by having them pay for the construction cost, which is Rs 2.50 lakh."
"Even under this, slum dwellers will get assistance from the PMAY scheme of the central government. Hence, the slum dwellers will not be burdened as such.”
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How many slum dwellers have been rehabilitated?
According to the Maharashtra Economic Survey 2022-23, tenements are provided to families living in slums under the SRA scheme. Since inception (1995) up to December 2022, around 2,231 projects have been completed and 2,45,295 families residing in slums have been rehabilitated in these tenements.
