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This is an archive article published on May 25, 2023
Ahead of BMC polls, Maharashtra to give slum-dwellers houses for Rs 2.5 lakh
The scheme will benefit more than 12 lakh families living in slum colonies, which play a decisive role in electoral outcomes in at least 40% of the total 227 wards.
The decision to give low-cost houses to slum-dwellers was taken by Fadnavis in 2018, when he was chief minister. (PTI Photo/File)
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Ahead of BMC polls, Maharashtra to give slum-dwellers houses for Rs 2.5 lakh
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Ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections, the Maharashtra government has decided to provide houses at Rs 2.5 lakh to slum-dwellers.
The decision is likely to benefit more than 12 lakh families living in slums in Mumbai.
A government resolution issued Thursday stated, “Eligible slum-dwellers will be entitled for a house at Rs 2.5 lakh. The scheme under SRA will extend to slum-dwellers living in the city from the year 2000 to 2011.”
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “We have kept our promise. It has always been our endeavour to provide houses to all segments including slum-dwellers.”
“The housing for slums cut-off date was 2000. During my tenure as CM in 2018, we brought in legislation to protect the slum colonies in existence in Mumbai up to 2011. However, as per the court directives, it was mandatory to provide houses to slum-dwellers at nominal rates instead of giving it for free. In accordance with court orders, the government took the decision to make houses available to slum-dwellers at Rs 2.5 lakh,” he said.
The slum-dwellers will not be financially overburdened as there is the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in existence, the BJP leader said. “Under Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s leadership, our government is committed to addressing the concerns of all segments. It also is on par with the Centre’s Garib Kalyan Yojana,” he said.
“More than 12 lakh families living in slums in Mumbai will get their rightful houses,” an official said.
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Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar said the decision was highly commendable. “It feels like Diwali in Mumbai,” Shelar said. “The Shinde-Fadnavis government’s decision shows the political will of the BJP and the Shiv Sena to extend welfare schemes for the uplift of the poor and slum-dwellers. It also is a promise that we made and have fulfilled at the first given opportunity.”
The decision to give low-cost houses to slum-dwellers was taken by Fadnavis in 2018, when he was chief minister.
In 2019, as the Maha Vikas Aghadi government came to power, the scheme was put on hold.
According to an official in the housing department, the decision means that “all those who resided in slums from 2000 to 2011 and those who have legal evidence to prove it will get pucca homes under the slum rehabilitation scheme”.
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Former housing minister Jitendra Awadh of the NCP said the MVA did not stall the housing scheme. “To the contrary, a sub-committee was constituted to determine the price of houses. It was finalised at Rs 2.5 lakh,” he said. However, the MVA government was pulled down after two and a half years.
The slum redevelopment scheme will be an important plank for the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena alliance to seek slum-dwellers’ votes. In Mumbai, slum colonies play a decisive role in determining electoral outcomes in at least 40 per cent of the total 227 wards.
The scheme will be implemented under the Slum Rehabilitation Authority Act.
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