A Chennai delegation of 10 people, including two bureaucrats and a secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, visited the Slum Rehabilitation Authority's (SRA) office in Bandra on Tuesday. The SRA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Satish Lokhande said, "They have slum pockets too. Therefore, they wish to carry out slum redevelopment projects on the lines of SRA. They wanted to understand the housing projects that have been undertaken here." The delegates were also taken to the site, where the SRA scheme has been undertaken.
In Mumbai, slum clusters are developed under 33 (10). Interested developers have to make an application to the SRA for redevelopment projects. A mandatory consent from affected slum dwellers is necessary before applying. The developer offers houses to the beneficiaries free of cost. In exchange, SRA allows for the construction of houses under saleable components. These can be sold in the open market to recover the project cost.
Reportedly, in Mumbai, there are about 20 lakh hutments. The Lidar survey has been completed for 4.5 lakh hutments. The Free Press Journal reported first in February that the authority intends to carry out a biometric survey of the remaining hutments.
