MHADA to modify JV scheme to attract builders

“Once this goes through,developers will start showing more interest in the scheme. We decided to introduce this modification based on a recent court order,” said a senior MHADA official.

In a case regarding one such project in Vartak Nagar,Thane,Bombay High Court recently ruled that the developer should not necessarily have to transfer his entire private land to MHADA.

Developers had been in talks with the housing board to do away with the clause for a long time. “We had given this suggestion around nine months ago. Builders were interested in the scheme as it is a win-win situation,except for this condition. No landowner will like to part with the land title. We have also asked them to hasten the process of awarding letters of intent (LoI),” said Mayur Shah,managing director of the Marathon Group. He added that the Group had expressed interest in the scheme to utilise plots it owns in Thane,Mulund,Bhandup and Lower Parel.

Under the scheme,owners or developers having a plot larger than 2,000 sq m can approach MHADA and get an FSI of 2.5 as compared to the 1.33 in south Mumbai and 1 in the suburbs. Developers and MHADA will share the housing stock on the additional FSI equally. Nineteen developers had expressed interest,but the scheme failed to take off.

“Most of the interested developers have plots in Thane or Pune. Due to the ongoing litigation,we were a little slow in processing requests,” the MHADA official said.

So far,MHADA has scrutinised at least three proposals that are at the stage of receiving LoI. The first is in Thane and can generate a stock of roughly 1,700 affordable houses,while the others are in Akurdi,Pune,and can generate 3,000 low-cost homes,the official added.