To build affordable houses, the housing authority is on a drive to reclaim its land that was encroached upon
If the rising real estate prices are forcing you to forgo your dream of owning a house in Mumbai, the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) might have a solution. MHADA has begun acquiring nearly 16 acres of land next to Film City that was encroached upon.
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Earlier this month they acquired close to 13 acres in Goregaon. Sources in the department claim they have marked 63 such locations in Mumbai and will soon acquire them. This will facilitate the building of nearly 25,000 affordable homes across the city and 6,500 affordable houses in the Film City area alone.
R Mitkar, executive engineer, MHADA, who is spearheading the land acquisition, says, “The land is spread across three patches and is occupied by illegal shanties. We have begun the process of removing them and acquiring the 15-16 acres. We have more than 60 such plots in Mumbai and we are in the process of marking them.”
According to senior MHADA officials, the authority’s prime job is to provide Mumbaiites, who cannot afford the market rates, with cheaper, affordable homes.
But MHADA is facing heavy land shortage and hence is reacquiring its encroached land. “We are trying our best to get the land for ourselves, so that affordable homes can be built on them. Authorities at MHADA are facing problems getting encroached land back.
However, we successfully managed to get the Goregaon land back and are hopeful that we will acquire other pieces of land as well. We will construct affordable homes on this land and give it to the common public through lottery,” said Mitkar.
It’s no secret that there’s a scarcity of land and hence MHADA is also planning to redevelop its own property in Vikhroli resulting in nearly 5,000 homes. u00a0