NEW DELHI: According to Sanjeev Jaiswal, the Vice President and CEO of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), Mumbai’s redevelopment strategy is evolving from focusing on individual buildings to large-scale cluster redevelopment.
In an exclusive interview with Ankit Sharma, Jaiswal emphasized that MHADA is concentrating on redeveloping extensive housing layouts across the city. This approach could unlock 800-1,000 acres for redevelopment, creating a substantial supply of affordable housing units in the years ahead.
He underscored the authority’s commitment to enhancing affordable housing for economically weaker sections (EWS) and lower-income groups (LIG), fast-tracking the redevelopment of aging properties, and reforming policies to tackle the high housing costs in Mumbai.
What are MHADA’s main objectives in the coming years?
The primary goal is to boost the availability of affordable housing for economically weaker sections and lower-income groups, and to a degree, the middle-income segment as well. Typically, MHADA homes are priced lower than those from private developers.
Another major focus is on redevelopment. As part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region growth hub, as identified by NITI Aayog, MHADA is tasked with facilitating the construction of around 8 million homes through various redevelopment projects under frameworks like DCPR 33(5), 33(7), and 33(9).
The third area of focus is reducing housing costs, which remain high in Mumbai, necessitating policy interventions to enhance affordability.
What role do you think redevelopment plays in Mumbai’s housing market?
Traditionally, redevelopment in Mumbai has been confined to individual structures or small clusters. However, there’s been a marked shift towards cluster redevelopment, where larger land areas are redeveloped as cohesive projects. Currently, MHADA oversees 114 layouts in the suburbs, emphasizing the need to redevelop larger clusters instead of processing individual building approvals.
Numerous projects are currently underway or in the planning stages, including those in Motilal Nagar, SVP Nagar, GTB Nagar in Sion, Abhyudaya Nagar, Kamathipura, Magathane, Mandvi Reclamation, Adarsh Nagar, and Aram Nagar.
Overall, plans are in various phases—approval, tendering, or implementation—for cluster projects covering approximately 800 to 1,000 acres in Mumbai.
Will cluster redevelopment significantly boost the supply of affordable housing?
Absolutely. The primary aim in cluster redevelopment is to rehabilitate existing residents currently living in small homes.
For instance, residents with homes measuring 160–200 sq ft may be upgraded to units of about 550-650 sq ft, greatly enhancing their living conditions.
MHADA anticipates adding around 10 lakh square meters of housing stock from cluster projects over the next six to seven years, equating to approximately 20,000 units predominantly in the 500-700 sq ft affordable housing category.
These homes are priced based on a formula linked to the ready reckoner rate rather than market values.
What’s the current status of redevelopment initiatives like Kamathipura and BDD Chawl?
The Kamathipura redevelopment is complex, involving around 800 landowners and approximately 7,500 tenants, making consensus-building a time-consuming process.
The cabinet has approved the redevelopment proposal, and a developer has been chosen, pending final governmental approval.
The BDD Chawl redevelopment represents one of MHADA’s largest housing projects, with around 17,000 rehabilitation units being constructed in Worli alone.
This project includes roughly 15 lakh square meters of Floor Space Index (FSI), incorporating commercial components. The funding models are still under consideration, including potential monetization of commercial space.
What key challenges do you face in redevelopment projects?
The cost of housing is a significant challenge. Affordable housing requires coordinated efforts from various stakeholders, including state agencies, municipal bodies, and the central government.
Implementing policy measures like reducing premiums, development charges, cess, GST, and stamp duty on affordable housing could dramatically decrease project expenses—potentially lowering prices in the affordable segment by around 25%.
Further, challenges arise in projects where developers compete by offering larger rehabilitation units than allowed under regulations, which can lead to conflicts and delays.
How crucial is infrastructure planning in redevelopment?
Infrastructure planning becomes more efficient with large-scale redevelopment.
Individual building redevelopments often incur higher per unit infrastructure costs. However, when redeveloping across 20–30 acre clusters, those costs are distributed among more units, alleviating the financial burden on individual homeowners.
This is a key reason why MHADA is promoting cluster or mini-cluster redevelopment approaches.
What’s the current status of cess buildings in Mumbai?
Previously, Mumbai had around 19,000 cess buildings, but that number has decreased to about 13,000, partly due to redevelopment and partly due to demolition from structural failures.
A recent amendment allows tenants to initiate redevelopment proposals if landowners do not act within six months of declaring a building dilapidated. However, legal challenges have temporarily stalled this provision.
MHADA is creating an exit policy for cess buildings, aiming to redevelop most of them over the next 10–15 years, excluding those that remain structurally sound.
What progress has been made under PMAY and rental housing initiatives in Maharashtra?
Under PMAY Urban 1.0, approximately 9.5 to 10 lakh homes have been planned across various components, including affordable housing projects, beneficiary-led construction, and credit-linked subsidy schemes.
One of the largest PMAY projects is in Raynagar, Solapur, where around 30,000 homes are being built.
Beneficiaries for PMAY 2.0 must register online before their projects can be approved, and around 1-1.25 lakh homes across various components have already been sanctioned.
Maharashtra’s new housing policy, introduced in 2025, includes rental housing for the first time. MHADA, as the nodal agency, has prepared draft regulations and is currently engaging with stakeholders.
This policy will also encompass new categories of housing, such as facilities for working women, student housing, housing for industrial workers, and accommodations for the elderly.
How has MHADA’s financial performance been in recent years?
MHADA experienced a 38% increase in revenue collection last year.
The authority has also seen significant financial improvement. When I assumed my role, MHADA had fixed deposits of approximately ₹150 crore, which has now surged to around ₹5,000 crore.
Cluster redevelopment projects alone are expected to generate about ₹25,000 crore in premiums over the next five to seven years while significantly increasing the stock of affordable housing.
MHADA is also exploring the possibility of undertaking housing projects outside Maharashtra through national bidding processes.
