12 officers appointed to speed up fine recovery from builders

FSI of four granted, builder yet to be appointed; only 51% consent needed for these projects

- Yogesh Naik

MUMBAI: The state government on Friday notified the redevelopment of two mega-redevelopment projects — 52 buildings owned by the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) at Bandra Reclamation and 58 buildings at Adarsh Nagar in Worli.

According to the order, a builder will be appointed to execute both projects, a windfall considering these are not only large housing colonies but also located at some of Mumbai's premium addresses.

The government has granted floor space index (FSI) of 4 for both projects. The developer, who will be appointed through a tendering process, will have to get the consent of just 51% of the residents of each colony, to secure development rights.

Both housing colonies were built between 1950 to 1960, when Mhada constructed around 56,000 houses in Mumbai's city and suburban areas under its Mumbai Board, for the middle-income group (MIG) and low-income group (LIG). It also assigned plots for high-income groups, on which around 5,000 cooperative housing societies were built. All these buildings are 50-60 years old and dilapidated, making them unsafe to live in. This prompted the residents of these colonies to demand redevelopment, to improve their living conditions, a housing official said.