A slum-free Thane on the cards:Hindustan Times

Thane’s 18 lakh slum dwellers may get houses as state approves draft plan for slum rehabilitation

Under the modified scheme, tenements will get 269 sq ft carpet area as against 225 sq ft, which was proposed earlier. The developer can now get as much as 2.5 FSI, subject to 25% of profit margin. OFFICER, from SRA department

THANE: In a move t hat will change the face of Thane, the state government has finally approved the modified slum rehabilitation authority (SRA) plan for the city.

Of the 18 lakh people who live in Thane, 53% live in the estimated 252 slums areas. The state government move will mean new homes for the families who live in hutments.

“Under the modified scheme, tenements will get 269 sq ft carpet area as against 225 sq ft, which was proposed earlier. The developer can now get as much as 2.5 FSI, subject to 25% of profit margin. If an area has more than 500 people, the developer can get more FSI. Also, they can purchase and use extra TDR for development,” said an officer from SRA department, requesting anonymity.

A senior civic official, on condition of anonymity, said: “Around two lakh homes need to be built in Thane to make the city slum-free. Some slum dwellers will also be provided homes under BSUP (Basic Service for Urban Poor). The modified SRA draft will benefit both residents and developers.”

Developers from the city, however, said the projects may not be as profitable. “According to our estimate, the developers will make sizable profits only if the selling rate of the flats under the scheme is more than Rs10,000 a sq ft. Homebuyers may be willing to pay this rate for the city. What about the suburbs such as Kalwa and Mumbra or for that matter the rural areas?,” said Prashant Jadhav, a developer.

“The modified SRA scheme will benefit the real estate market of Thane,” said Nilesh Sawant, an architect. “After the scheme is modified, more developers will show interest. The slums that were registered before 2000 will benefit from the scheme. While the projects will be profitable for developers in the city, one cannot be sure about the kind of response the projects in rural areas will get,” he added.

The SRA scheme for Thane was announced before t he Assembly elections last year by the then chief minister Prithviraj Chavan. Since then there has been no word on the scheme until now.

While the modified draft of the scheme was approved by housing minister Prakash Mehta on Wednesday, the final notification has not been published.