MMRDA to launch Rental housing scheme in Mumbai

Mumbai: The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority has decided to partner Matheran Realty’s Tanaji Malusare City (TMC) project at Karjat, to launch its rental housing programme.

The TMC will provide 6,000 homes of 160 sq ft each (carpet area), valued at Rs 2 lakh, to the authority which in exchange will permit a higher floor space index of four for the project. In addition, MMRDA will also provide offsite infrastructure support such as roads, power and water supply to the promoters.

The Maharashtra Government plans to create a rental housing stock of five lakh houses in the next five years to providing housing to those who are unable to purchase a home. The beneficiaries of the housing scheme will be given the 160-sqft residential unit on a lease-cum-licence basis for a period to be decided by the MMRDA, which would also determine the monthly charges.

The TMC project is spread across 100 acres and the company plans to build 15,000 apartments.

Mr S.C. Deshpande, Joint Project Director-Town Planning, MMRDA, said Karjat is one of MMRDA’s focal point to decongest Mumbai and it would be converted into a satellite township with world-class infrastructure on the lines of a self-sustained business city. The vision was to build a city with a capability to serve over a million citizens with emphasis on civic and social amenities.

Mr Pravin Banavalikar, CEO of Tanaji Malusare City, said the mission was to build good quality homes for urban immigration in large volumes. TMC came out with a low-cost format priced in the range of Rs 3 lakh for a 300 sq ft unit. The company marketed the project and had received an overwhelming response as over 65,000 people evinced interest in it.

A senior company official said the project to sell 15,000 low-cost units was on track and only 6,000 units were assigned to the MMRDA, which in exchange had permitted additional FSI and consequently the ground-plus-three blocks would become G+4. The units to MMRDA would be delivered in December 2009.

TMC would deliver 3,000 units to those, who had applied and paid for the units, in June 2009 as scheduled and the second lot of units will be allotted on priority in applications received.