Redevpt of Mhada colony in Thane caught in red tape

Thane: A spacious flat, a fat corpus fund to manage the maintenance of their swank 22-storey highrise and a better lifestyle lured Pramod More's family to agree to redevelopment of their 35-year-old Mhada building at Vartak Nagar. However, two years on, their dreams seem to be crumbing as the redevelopment projects on the 63-acre Mhada colony is stuck in a policy paralysis. 
    Over 3,500 tenants are now living in rented accommodations after their old buildings were hurriedly demolished. 
    "Delay in decision-making has held up the project. Merely sanctioning higher FSI of 2.5 is not the solution. Environment nods and lack of clarity on part of Mhada regarding the ready housing stock to be provided to it has become the bone of contention," said Hanumant Jagdale, a NCP leader and a prominent developer in the area. 
    "Most of the buildings in the colony stand on small plots of around 600 sq m, so the developer has no option but to go vertical. Initially, two of the three building redevelopment projects took off successfully after Mhada increased the FSI to 2.5 from 1. However, for the past four to five months, the work has stopped after the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) insisted on an environment department no-objection certificate for structures exceeding 20,000 sq m. Owner of the land, in this case Mhada, should get the requisite NOC but the agency has failed to do so," said Jagdale. 
    In the absence of the NOC, the TMC has refused to give a go-ahead, he added. 
    Locals have held the nexus between developers and policy planners in Mantralaya, Mhada and the TMC responsible for this. But now, others who are still residing in the age-old dilapidated buildings and row houses are unwilling to take the redevelopment plunge. 
    Of the 73 Low Income Group (LIG) Mhada buildings in the colony, over 40 are in a dilapidated state and have been served notices by the authorities. These houses are largely occupied by industrial workers employed in manufacturing units in and around Thane.