Maha Cabinet clears transfer of govt lands to metropolitan region development authorities

As per the decision, all the encumbered government lands in the metropolitan region will be transferred to the authorities as per the terms and conditions of the state government.

An official said that the concerned authorities will be able to use these lands as a source of raising funds for infrastructure as per the approved regional or development plan.

The Cabinet has also approved the disposal of lands transferred to the authorities as per the prescribed rules, and each authority will have to immediately prepare separate land disposal rules with the approval of the state government.

A government release said that separate records regarding the use of these lands will be maintained at the Revenue and Forest Department level and will be digitised.

It added that it has been clearly instructed that if it includes barren, gurcharan, temple or forest lands, action will have to be taken on those lands only as per the decisions of the Supreme and High Courts.

"Also, if the lands to be transferred are in the possession of a local body, Gram Panchayat or Zilla Parishad, it will be mandatory for the authorities to obtain permission or resolution from the concerned bodies before undertaking their development," it said.

According to the government release, the decision will provide a major boost to the authorities in raising funds for the construction of necessary infrastructure for the development of the metropolitan region, which will ultimately accelerate the pace of development.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet also approved the combined redevelopment of buildings under the ambit of Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority situated at Bandra Reclamation and Adarsh Nagar in Greater Mumbai.

An official said that Permission has been granted for the redevelopment of some cooperative housing societies under MHADA in Bandra Reclamation and Adarsh Nagar.

The Cabinet also approved the appointment of a Construction and Development Agency through MHADA without giving approval for the redevelopment of the remaining single buildings, excluding the plots for which such permission has been granted.

An official said that for the proposed combined redevelopment, a four-floor space index (FSI) will be approved with the prior approval of the government. Out of the four FSIs, one will be approved in the form of housing stock. Therefore, the bidder who is ready to provide the maximum housing stock to MHADA and fulfills the financial and physical conditions of the tender process should be appointed by MHADA for redevelopment. It will be necessary to follow all government decisions while implementing the tender process.

The area of the Bandra Reclamation area is 1,97,466 square meters, and that of Adarsh Nagar (Worli) is 68,034 square meters. The developer appointed by MHADA will be required to submit consent letters from 51 per cent of the total members of both areas to MHADA.

Further, the Construction and Development Organisation will be responsible for the rehabilitation of the original landowners and residents of these projects, providing them with temporary accommodation, paying rent for alternative sites, corpus funds, and developing all infrastructure.