MHADA seizes 114 flats in Byculla from builder

“In terms of the total number of flats as well as their value,this is perhaps the largest housing stock we have managed to recover from any developer over the past 10 years at least. We will now allot these flats to families who feature on our “master list” of the transit camp tenants and are to be given permanent houses,” said M K Thombare,chief officer of MHADA’s repairs and reconstruction board.

Thombare said the market value of the houses is approximately Rs 300 crore. The houses,which were constructed around three years ago,have a carpet area ranging from 225 square feet to 560 square feet,and the building is well-equipped with elements such as granite flooring and a modular kitchen.

A senior MHADA official said,“Sumer was to hand over this surplus area to us originally in 2008. However,they did not comply or pay heed to our notices.”

Ramesh Shah of Sumer Group said the company never intended to not hand over the necessary surplus housing stock to MHADA as per norms. “It was never our intention to dupe anyone. As per the earlier policy,we could hand over the housing stock in some other developed area within the ward. However,they later scrapped this policy,making it mandatory for us to hand over flats in the same project. Later again,they reverted to the old policy. There was some confusion,which led to the delay,” he said.

MHADA’s repair board is responsible for the maintenance of cessed buildings,which are structures constructed before 1970 that have to pay a cess to MHADA for their upkeep. Developers have to seek consent from the housing board before taking redevelopment of such buildings and are also supposed to surrender a pre-calculated amount out of the total surplus housing stock generated on redevelopment.

After a large number of developers defaulted on handing over of this surplus housing stock,MHADA had sent notices to 33 developers which together owed the housing board a total area of about 10 lakh square feet. Sumer Group was one of them.

Of the 33,Sumer Group is the second developer to face such an action from MHADA. The housing board had earlier taken possession of a few flats spread over an area of 574 square metres. A few other developers have shown their willingness to hand over the surplus housing stock,but are yet to actually give MHADA the possession of these houses.