Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) and BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will be conducting a joint meeting on pending water bills and cess arrears, said Vinod Ghosalkar, chairman of Mumbai Building Repairs and Redevelopment Board (MBRRB).
He explained, "The civic body has disconnected water supply to many MBRRB transit camp buildings following failure to clear the bills. The board has not been getting annual cess from BMC. Therefore, the bills have not been cleared." The meeting aims to resolve the issue.
BMC has disconnected water supply in the transit camps located at Andheri, Borivali and Dahisar. Politicians have been supplying water through tankers to these buildings as a temporary solution, Ghosalkar stated.
Pending arrears
MBRRB should be paid Rs 10 crore annually by BMC as less collection. However, since 2013, arrears have not been cleared. Besides, the government of Maharashtra also pays Rs 100 crore to the board to repair buildings and other allied work. However, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it has asked the board to take funds from MHADA.
MBRRB charges Rs 500 per tenement staying in transit houses along with water facility. Ghosalkar asserted, "The expense of one house on an average is Rs 2,200. However, since these transit structures are in bad condition, we cannot increase the monthly rental. The board is suffering from huge losses; redevelopment of old structures is the only solution."
The Free Press Journal had reported about the MBRRB transit camp redevelopment plan. The board has a total of 58 transit camps, of which 20 have already been developed and the remaining 38 transit camps will now be redeveloped. Through this plan, about 10,000 new transit housing stock will be generated. These houses will be sold through a lottery scheme and the project cost will be recovered.
