Jun 17, 2025 09:06 AM IST
Maharashtra will restart 86 stalled slum rehabilitation projects, appointing new developers, benefiting thousands of slum-dwellers owed ₹279 crore in unpaid rent.
MUMBAI: As many as 86 slum rehabilitation projects that had stalled for years will restart, with the state government deciding to appoint fresh developers to see them through. The decision, taken at a review meeting on Monday, on pending projects under the Slum Redevelopment Authority (SRA), will positively impact lakhs of slum-dwellers, including 50,000-odd who had shifted to temporary accommodation but had stopped receiving rent from builders who were to execute their projects.
The issue of stalled SRA projects and slum-dwellers who had stopped receiving rent from developers was raised during the budget session of the state legislature during. The Bombay High Court had in June last year pulled up the state government and SRA in the matter of a pending SRA project in Wadala as the families were waiting to receive their new homes since 2013. Against this backdrop, this state has decided to expedite the process, to remove errant builders and appoint new developers.
At the review meeting on Monday, held by guardian minister for Mumbai suburbs, Ashish Shelar, the SRA said legal notices had been sent to 86 errant developers and their rights would be terminated. “This move will empower residents in Mumbai’s suburbs as it would pave the way for the appointment of new developers, to restart pending SRA projects,” said Shelar. The unpaid rent in these 86 projects amounts to ₹279 crore, he said.
In the meeting, officials informed Shelar that since 2022, developers across all SRA projects in Mumbai, including those under the government’s amnesty scheme, owe ₹1,382.48 crore in pending rent to residents. Of this, ₹735.67 crore has been recovered, while ₹646 crore remains pending as of May 2025.