Mumbai: The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) hosted a workshop to chart a roadmap for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) Growth Hub Project. The event brought together stakeholders, including private developers and construction professionals.
The workshop, led by MHADA Vice President and CEO Sanjeev Jaiswal, outlined a vision aligned with Niti Aayog’s economic transformation goals. The MMR Growth Hub Project aims to increase MMR’s GDP from $140 billion in 2023 to $300 billion by 2030. Officials, including Milind Shambharkar, chief officer of Mumbai Building Repairs & Reconstruction Board; Milind Borikar, IAS, chief officer of Mumbai Board, MHADA, and Anil Wankhede, deputy CEO, MHADA, shared strategies to achieve these targets.
Project’s Seven Key Pillars
Jaiswal highlighted the project’s seven key pillars: Affordable housing, global service hubs, tourism and recreation, transit-oriented development, inclusivity, sustainability, and advanced infrastructure. Central to the project is the delivery of three million affordable housing units by 2030, with 2.2 million units through slum rehabilitation (SRA) and 800,000 through affordable housing schemes led by MHADA and CIDCO.
He stressed the crucial role of private developers in achieving these targets and the need to revisit building permissions, premium charges, and taxes to reduce housing costs and enhance affordability. Shambharkar emphasised the need for regulatory reforms to expedite stalled projects, highlighting issues with policies under sections 33(7) and 33(9) and proposing amendments for faster approvals.
