Unrealistic targets, poor response delay state’s new housing policy : Hindustan Times

Only 10 of state’s 366 legislators have replied with suggestions to the policy in almost 2 months

MUMBAI: 

A new housing policy, originally meant to be announced by the state government by the end of May, will be delayed by at least two months as the housing department and other stakeholders say its targets are difficult to meet.

An extremely poor response from legislators to the draft policy is another reason for the delay.

The draft policy, prepared by the department with the help of the Yashvantrao Chavan Academy for Development Administration, was circulated among the state’s 288 MLAs and 78 MLCs on May 8, to submit their suggestions in four weeks. But only 10 MLAs replied to the department, while a few others sought clarifications on the draft.

This lukewarm response forced the department to extend the deadline, in the hope that legislators would respond during the monsoon session of the state legislature, which starts on July 13.

The department also has reservations about the goal of 11 lakh new affordable houses in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and eight lakh in the rest of Maharashtra by 2022. “Neither Mhada nor any other government agency, including Cidco, has the capacity to meet these targets, and will need help from private builders. Without policy intervention, it will be difficult for the government to achieve the target,” said an official at Mantralaya.

The department will study the possibility of using schemes such as slum redevelopment, cluster development and the development of Mhada, BDD and police colonies to get closer to the target.

“All the agencies need to be taken into confidence before the policy is finalised. The BMC, Cidco, Police Housing and Welfare Corporation and other agencies need to be included in the process. This will definitely take a few more weeks,” another official said.

The government has also decided to tweak its policies according to new incentives announced by the ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation.

“The central government has announced a low interest rate of 6% for the housing of poor people and a subsidy of Rs1.5 lakh in certain schemes. This financial support will help us bring down the prices of houses built by government agencies,” the officer said, adding that policy intervention and more incentives for the private sector will help the government achieve its target.

“We have issued letters of intent for private projects with a capacity of three lakh tenements. Tweaking rules and fast-tracking projects will help us meet the targets. But systematic implementation is required,” he added.

Ravindra Waikar, minister of state for housing, said that the policy will take at least two more months to finalise. “It is true that the response from legislators to the draft policy was poor. We are brainstorming on every aspect of the policy to make it comprehensive. This will take a couple of months,” he said.