‘Progress poor’, SRA scraps 181 of 228 govt joint venture projects

Mumbai: Almost two years after govt asked various state-run corporations to undertake slum redevelopment at 228 locations through joint ventures (JVs) with Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA), 181 projects have been scrapped as the agencies made little progress and many were found not feasible.Of its 77 planned JVs, BMC will now implement only 44, Mhada two of its 24, and MMRDA one of its five. SRA will initiate the work either as part of its cluster slum redevelopment scheme or regular schemes, depending on the state govt's decision.SRA CEO Mahindra Kalyankar, who has been pushing for policy reforms in SRA, said most of the schemes earmarked for JVs had not made any progress through the assigned agencies. "The projects were not feasible in many cases. So now, the JV scheme has been scrapped, barring a few with BMC, Mhada and MMRDA. The rest of the proposed JV schemes are back with SRA and will be redeveloped either under the new cluster redevelopment scheme or through any other SRA scheme as decided by the state govt. Only 47 schemes have been retained under JVs," he said.Officials said some of the JV schemes overlapped with slum clusters that have been identified. "So once they are approved by a high-powered committee to be constituted under additional chief secretary, housing, and then by the state govt, they will be redeveloped," said an official.In Sept 2024, the state govt had asked multiple agencies, including BMC, MMRDA, MSRDC, Mhada, MahaPreit, MIDC and Cidco, to redevelop slums on govt land in JVs with SRA. Officials said all 228 slum projects had been stalled for many years. Nearly 2.2 lakh families live in these slums on govt land.According to a govt resolution (GR), the state-run agencies and corporations were to appoint architects for the projects, prepare detailed feasibility reports and detailed planning proposals, conduct biometric surveys of slumdwellers and identify those eligible, pay rent or make alternative arrangements for transit camps, and construct rehabilitation buildings. "But none of the schemes made any significant progress through the JV partner agencies," the GR said.