Builders should come forward for affordable housing

 Media Coverage  |  10-09-2024

Discussion on housing projects in Maha held in presence of housing min Atul Save

Mumbai

MHADA and Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) are working together to provide affordable houses to the common man. MHADA will soon conduct a lottery for the distribution of 2000 newly constructed houses. MHADA is receiving 15 times more applications for houses now, which means that the demand for houses is very high. Therefore, “we will build as many affordable houses as possible.”

“For this, the public and the builders should come to us. We wish to involve the builders in MHADA’s redevelopment plans. If this happens, more affordable houses will be constructed,” said Maharashtra’s housing minister Atul Save. The minister was addressing the ‘Lokmat Real Estate Conclave-2024’ organised by Lokmat Media Group on ‘Building New India’. MahaRERA chairman Ajoy Mehta, MHADA vice president Sanjeev Jaiswal, CIDCO vice president Vijay Singhal,  chairman of editorial board of Lokmat Media and former member of Rajya Sabha Dr Vijay Darda and Managing Director Devendra Darda attended the event. The housing minister said Mumbai, the economic capital of the country, is expanding continuously. Apart from working on projects such as the Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Mahamarg, Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train and Metro, MHADA and SRA are constructing houses for the common man as per his budget.  MHADA is building nine lakh affordable houses in the state. Construction of 33,000 houses has been completed in Solapur and 15,000 houses have been given to workers. Registration of one lakh cotton mill workers is underway for housing. Efforts are being made to provide them with houses near Mumbai. For this, a place near Mumbai is being searched.

Projects will change face of Mumbai

 The housing minister said Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants every citizen of the country to get a house as per their rights. For this, “we all should work together. Authorities like SRA are taking steps in this direction.” Streamlining traffic facilities is also going on at a fast pace. “We have also taken up a big project of the redevelopment of Dharavi. Kamathipura is also being redeveloped. All these projects will change the face of Mumbai.” On the issues raised in the presence of builders, the minister reassured the government’s support in every project. “As soon as we receive the support of the builders, every citizen’s dream of having a house will be realised,” he said.

Cost of houses for common man  will be kept low: Sanjeev Jaiswal

“We are looking at the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana as a ‘game changer’ but there are challenges such as GST, metro cess and stamp duty. Despite this, emphasis will be laid on keeping the price low to provide affordable houses to the common man,” assured MHADA vice president Jaiswal. He said, “MHADA aims to provide affordable houses to the common man. We are working in that direction. For the last 10 years, we have been distributing affordable houses through a lottery system.” “We are also facing the challenges of increasing population and availability of land. MHADA has 114 layouts. Apart from this, there are cess buildings. The work of their redevelopment has been taken up, and housing schemes are being completed through clusters,” he said. Major projects like ‘BDD’ are in progress. Projects such as Abhyudaya Nagar at Kalachowki, PMJP Colony at Jogeshwari, and GTB Nagar are being taken up. Work is continuing on projects such as Bandra Reclamation and Adarsh Nagar.

Jaiswal said the work of the repair board is in full swing. The redevelopment of 13,000 buildings is a huge challenge. Societies and owners of buildings are given a chance to redevelop. If they fail, then MHADA takes up the work.

Surveys are underway to provide houses to cotton mill workers in the Mumbai metropolitan region. Nearly 15,000 cotton mill workers have been provided houses and one lakh workers have been found eligible for houses.

 

Navi Mumbai airport will start

operating next year: Vijay Singhal

CIDCO vice president Vijay Singhal said, “We are building 67,000 houses, and 43,000 houses will be ready by December 2024. “The work on Navi Mumbai airport is progressing rapidly. This airport will start functioning by March 2025. Nine crore passengers will use this airport every year,” he said, adding that Navi Mumbai is one of the fastest-growing cities.He said, “Our authority aims to provide maximum infrastructure through projects like NAINA along with the airport.”People are migrating to Navi Mumbai in large numbers. Corporate offices are also coming there for which basic facilities and services are being set up. Metro and airport will prove to be game changers in this direction.

These projects are being completed keeping in mind the needs of the next several years. Thousands of crores of rupees have been invested for this. Every sector will benefit from this.Vijay Singhal said efforts will be made to connect Mumbai airport with Navi Mumbai airport. A network of metro and roads is being expanded in Navi Mumbai and metro and roads are being connected to Mumbai.

Especially the work of connecting the metro and the airport is going on. Apart from this, the importance of this area will increase due to the Naina project. Basic facilities are being increased there day by day. He said people will benefit greatly from the development of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. These two cities represent the Mumbai metropolitan region.

Punctuality important

in execution of projects

Connectivity is very important for the development of a city. In Singapore, the connectivity is of a high standard. Similarly, the Naina project of Navi Mumbai is also a good example of connectivity. As soon as the work on the project kicks off, efforts and planning should be made to complete it on time. This not only requires capacity building but also  the availability of land with the government. Environmental experts should also be consulted while executing a project and Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA), municipal corporation and CIDCO should work in close coordination. Other agencies concerned should also work in tandem. The project should be executed in a time-bound manner because delay in any project is not good. Lokmat Media Group, from time to time, organises award ceremonies because such awards give impetus to the development of the State. When good work is appreciated, enthusiasm is generated. That is why awards have a pride of place in the life of award winners. – Dr Vijay Darda, Chairman of Editorial Board

of Lokmat Media Group and former member of Rajya Sabha  Trust between buyers, builders must: Mehta

Chairman of MahaRERA Ajoy Mehta says trust among all stake holders is important while constructing houses. The timely construction of affordable houses should also be given serious consideration, because delay in the completion of a project, escalates its cost. The only reason for this delay is that the license for the project is not issued on time which gives rise to many problems.  In fact, trust between the builder and the customer is very important  while working in this sector. Mehta added problems crop up if there is no trust and transparency in the style of functioning. In this connection, MahaRERA is making efforts to sort out these problems.  MahaRERA does not act in an autocratic manner as information is only sought from builders because customers are keen to know the period of completion of the project and  objective of MahaRERA is to ensure that wrong information does not reach buyers.

Currently, 77 per cent of the investment in the country is being made in the real estate sector and more work is being done to build affordable houses. Technology is also developing rapidly. Hence, attention should also  paid to challenges like market price of land pattas, value of land and economics of building houses. Ajoy Mehta further said MahaRERA is continuously working to establish good communication between the buyers and realtors.

Two projects of ‘Lok8 Infra’ on anvil

Given the composite nature of the realty sector, we have also entered the real estate sector under the name ‘Lok8 Infra’. Our two projects are coming up under this scheme. In the last 10 years, the country has made huge economic progress. The per capita income of the citizens has also gone up. Similarly, urbanisation is on the rise as people from villages are moving to cities. This apart, the joint family system is breaking up. Now families are getting divided or have started living independently. This is increasing the demand for houses and their market is expanding. Hence, the real estate sector should work to supply houses according to the demand. Lokmat is constantly raising the issue of opportunities and challenges in the housing construction sector. Through this, work is being done to overcome the challenges of this sector.

– Devendra Darda, Managing Director, Lokmat Media Group

(From Left) Directors of Regency Group Vicky Rupchandani and Aditya Agrawal, chairman of Nagpur based Kukreja Infrastructures Virendra Kukreja, MD of Rustagi Group Sanjay Gupta, Deepak Sawant of Vasant Vihar Realty Pvt Ltd, director of Lifestyle Sachin Gunjal, chairman of MahaRERA Ajoy Mehta, Maharashtra housing development minister Atul Save, CEO of Raymond Realty Harmohan Sahni, COO of Raymond Realty Sandeep Maheshwari, managing director and editorial director of Lokmat Media Group Devendra Darda, MHADA vice chairman Sanjeev Jaiswal, director of Trilogy Ankit Goenka, director of R Sandesh Group Shraddha Agrawal, CMD of Imagination Group Milind Kumar Meshram, Irfan Pathan of Imagination Group, chairman of Nanik Group Mahesh Sadhwani and director of Dosti Realty Nitin Nagpal during the Lokmat Real Estate Conclave.

‘Developing basic amenities will

boost housing sector’

Several housing projects are being developed in Mumbai and its outskirts. Still, developing basic services and amenities in these areas is very important. Industries should come to these places, and the government should also help improve amenities. This will give a boost to the housing sector, opined prominent names in the real estate industry during the ‘Lokmat Real Estate Conclave’ organised by the Lokmat Media Group on the topic ‘Building New India’.

(From left) CA and MD of JVM Spaces Manthan Mehta, MCHI Mumbai president Dominic Romell, founder and chairman of HSA Hiten Sethi, chairman of Kukreja Infrastructures, Nagpur Virendra Kukreja, chief officer of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Ajit Kawade, managing partner of SOLICIS  Lex Adv Ameet Mehta, MD and CEO of Haware Properties Amit Haware during the discussion at the Lokmat Real Estate Conclave.

Remove root causes

Housing projects are being completed at a fast pace. However, the level of transport related services and facilities should be increased directly. The basic obstacles causing traffic problems should be removed. Only then  the coordination will be established between these two aspects. Therefore, development of basic services and facilities for the completion of housing construction projects is also the need of the hour.

-Dominic Romell,

President, MCHI, Mumbai Create a permanent project

Any project should be sustainable. The projects should focus on energy conservation. It should make the customers feel happy while protecting their health. There should be research in the real estate sector. We should enhance the features of our projects. The government will definitely help you but for that  you should also be dedicated to your work.

-Hiten Sethi,

Founder and President, HSA The ‘B-class’ problem

The government should provide basic services outside the cities. Industries should come. The government should promote this, only then the city will grow. Otherwise development is a difficult task. Because ‘B-class’ cities like Nagpur are facing these problems. The problems of ‘B-class’ towns are different. The government should help to solve these problems. Training should be given.

– Virendra Kukreja,

Chairman, Kukreja Infrastructure, Nagpur Will focus on quality

Nearly 10 lakh people are benefiting from the scheme. We have focused on affordable houses. This scheme is a game changer. Through this, the dream of owning a house for low-income people is being realised. Now the second phase of the scheme is getting success. More and more emphasis is being laid on the quality of the construction. We are also giving impetus to solar energy in the project.

– Ajit Kawade, Chief Officer, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana

Synergy is important

Coordination is very important while setting up any project. One should know how to coordinate. Permissions like OC and CC for a home construction project should be considered on priority. The real estate sector is changing. New technology should be accepted and assimilated. Problems and challenges should be understood and overcome.

– Adv Ameet Mehta, Managing Partner, SOLICIS  Lex

Embrace social media

Expert architects should come forward to build affordable houses. Steel and cement should be available at low prices. New technologies are coming, we should adopt them. Tools like social media should be used. Customers should be treated in the best possible manner. Only then will everything be possible.

– Amit Haware, MD and CEO, Haware Properties

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