Affordable homes in Bandra!

With the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) planning to construct housing units in Bandra (W), near Rangsharda, 450 lottery winners could stake claim to residences in the queen of suburbs. Though the plot was initially leased out to a football association for holding practice sessions, MHADA officials claimed that the contract was terminated.

Coming soon... The MHADA plot near Rangsharda in Bandra.u00a0Pic/Sayed Sameer Abediu00a0

The housing authority owns a 11,000 square metre plot opposite Rangsharda and during the recently concluded meeting, MHADA officials decided to develop the plot for housing purposes. Officials are now planning to send a proposal to the urban development (UD) department, requesting it to change the reservation of the plot from a convention centre to residential.

Confirming the development, MHADA chief engineer R Mitkar said, "Our main aim is to provide affordable housing. What are we going to do with commercial units? So we have decided to construct homes here."

In its previous meeting, UD principal secretary Manukumar Srivastava had asked MHADA officials why they were sitting on a plot located at such a prime location. "He asked us why doesn't MHADA construct homes on the plot," said a senior MHADA official who attended that meeting.

With the housing authority planning to use a floor space index (FSI) of 2.5, the move would enable it to develop a total of 27,500 square metres, of which 60 square metres would be set aside for building housings units. "For buyers in the Higher Income Group (HIG), we would be constructing spacious 2BHK apartments. Going by the calculation, we would be able to construct at least 450 such accommodations if the FSI is utilised wisely," the official said.

The glitch
The major hurdle in the ambitious plan is the proximity of the plot to the sea, which makes it fall under the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ). MHADA officials fear application of CRZ norms will prohibit it from using the 2.5 FSI to the fullest. "We will write to the UD, requesting it to let us use the entire FSI because it is for affordable housing. We are confident that MHADA would be allowed to do so because we'll be constructing homes," an official said.u00a0

450
Number of housing units MHADA plans to construct on the land

2.5
The FSI MHADA plans to utilise for developing this plot

2 bhk
Type of apartments the housing body wants to build to cater to the buyers in the HIG u00a0