Curation Team
MUMBAI: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday complained that despite giving all kinds of concessions, including reducing premiums for the real estate industry, prices of flats in Mumbai continue to rise.
Speaking at a CREDAI-MCHI meeting, Fadnavis said he had a grievance. “In the last ten years, all the things you asked us to do so that housing would become affordable we have done, but after those decisions were taken, housing prices have only gone up and not reduced. You asked us to reduce premiums, it was also reduced, but housing prices did not go down. We thought we shall build the coastal road, Atal Setu, and prices will come down, but after the coastal road was constructed, prices have gone sky high,” said Fadnavis.
While housing prices going up was not a bad thing as it brought money into the economy, Fadnavis said if affordable housing is to be a reality, then it cannot be business as usual. He urged builders to invest in the Third Mumbai, which is being developed across the Atal Setu, and in the Fourth Mumbai, which is being developed in the northern region of MMR around the Vadhavan port.
Fadnavis said the govt wants to develop third Mumbai as an edutech city, innovation city, and has 60% of the data centres. He said 12 foreign universities will be setting up centres in the edutech city, which will serve one lakh students, creating a vibrant economy. MMRDA, he said, is developing a 150 sq km township, and CIDCO is building another township. He urged builders to do a joint venture with MMRDA in the region.
If Mumbai is to become slum-free, then generational projects will not help, said Fadnavis, urging builders to bring in new technology to expedite slum redevelopment. “If the land is cleared in one and a quarter year, the building should be ready in one year. Only then will it be possible to make Mumbai slum-free,” he said.
