State looks at capping price on 20% EWS and LIG housing stock

MUMBAI: To prevent builders from charging exorbitant rates, the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) has proposed an upper cap on the pricing of the housing stock and amenities in projects kept aside for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and Lower Income Group (LIG) in all housing projects across the state. The proposal has been sent to the urban development department that is currently headed by chief minister Eknath Shinde.
In 2020, the Maharashtra government had introduced the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations (UDCPR) for the entire state. It is applicable on all building activities and development works on lands, except for areas under the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, MIDC, NAINA, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, hill station municipal councils and eco-sensitive or eco-fragile regions.
Under the regulations, if a plot is earmarked for residential purposes and measures 4,000 sq. m. or more, a minimum 20% area is to be provided for EWS and LIG affordable housing stock. However, since the UDCPR’s roll-out, there has been a regular flow of complaints from beneficiaries about being asked to cough up prices at par with the ones in the open market, thereby defeating the very purpose of generating affordable and inclusive housing stock.
These tenements are sold by the developer after getting a list of allottees from MHADA and the developer is supposed to allot the units at the construction cost mentioned in the annual statement of rates notified by the Inspector General of Registration, with 25% additional cost, which means at 125% of the price. “However, what has emerged is that at the time of payment and signing of agreement, builders are increasing the prices by asking extra sums for the amenities provided, which should not be the case,” said a senior government official.
Hence, a cap has been proposed on the extra levy at the actual cost or 5%, whichever is less. In the case of plot projects, the landowner or developer must share the requisite land area with MHADA. “The developers are giving us lands that are undesirable or unmarketable – either fragmented or scattered, below high-tension cables or alongside railway lines. To curb such practice, we have proposed that MHADA should be given contiguous land parcels and MHADA’s NOC should also be secured prior to commencement of the project and seeking urban local body’s approval. This will enable us to identify which land parcel we will receive and plan accordingly for an affordable housing scheme,” the official said.