‘Register, then redevelop’ State Wants Bldrs To Sign Up With SRA Before Starting Slum Projects

Mumbai: The state government will amend rules to make it mandatory for builders to register themselves with the slum redevelopment authority (SRA) before being allowed to redevelop slums. 

    "There are lots of complaints against SRA developers. But there is no provision to blacklist them. Only those registered with the SRA will be allowed to participate. The Slum Act Bill has been passed by the state legislature. The state will make the necessary amendments to keep a tab on SRA developers," Sachin Ahir, minister of state for housing said. "The new Annexure three would deal with financial capability of the developer," Ahir added. Ahir was replying to a calling attention motion raised by Vinayak Mete (NCP) in the state legislative council on Thursday. 

    Vasant Davkhare, deputy chairman of the council, directed the state to take cognizance of increasing irregularities in the SRA. "There are complaints against every SRA project. Injustice is done to the real beneficiary of the scheme (slum dwellers)," Davkhare added. 

    Prakash Binsale (NCP) said that there were no clear directives from the government on who can take up SRA projects. "Anyone forms a construction group and puts up a board of an SRA project. The government should check whether the developer is financially sound for handling the redevelopment project," Binsale said. 

    Vidya Chavan of the NCP alleged that the scheme was driven by the builder lobby and developers had taken over the government scheme aimed at making Mumbai slum-free. "SRA officials don't have the time to meet slum dwellers who want to complain against the developers," Chavan said. 

    Admitting that developers had taken over the scheme, Ahir said, "Those having objections to any SRA project can lodge their complaints with the high-power committee (HPC) headed by the housing secretary. The department will also form one more HPC, which will be headed by an IAS official."