State Government to soon unite housing bodies to speed up affordable housing projects.

The Maharashtra Government plans to bring the various agencies responsible for affordable housing schemes under a single umbrella. Sources indicate that the Government is considering bringing the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA), Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) and others to urban development services in order to streamline and speed up affordable housing projects.

While these were independent bodies, the official said that the Government thought that it would become too difficult to have so many bodies operating affordable housing projects.

As part of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), the previous BJP-led government under Devendra Fadnavis planned to create affordable houses for all by 2022.

“Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray shared interest in bringing these agencies together to speed up the projects. While there was a meeting in Mumbai relating to the city, similar meetings will be conducted for other key cities,” said an official of the urban development department.

The government signed agreements with Credai-Maharashtra and Maharashtra Housing Industry Chamber in 2018 to build about 9.15 lakh of affordable housing units in the state’s rural areas by 2022. The State also informed the construction target of 19.4 lakh homes in urban areas by 2022. Development is underway on 13.5 lakh units, the official said.

Another official of the government said that the state policies on building affordable housing were truly effective compared to other states. “Increased FSI, low land prices and a reduction in stamp duties to only Rs 1,000 is a boost to affordable housing,” the senior official of the State government said.

The State government recently announced an additional subsidy of Rs 2 lakhs to builders and also introduced policies for the sustainable development of green zones under PMAY, the official said.