New Delhi: The Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) is on a mission to not just make Mumbai slum-free, but to empower its residents with a sense of pride and belonging. Speaking at the TV9 Marathi ‘Infra and Housing Conclave,’ SRA Secretary Sandeep Deshmukh outlined the vision behind the ambitious redevelopment project.
“Our aim is not to simply relocate slum dwellers,” Deshmukh stated, “but to provide them with a good pucca house. Home is a source of pride, a dream, and we are giving those dreams and that pride back to the residents.”
The SRA is focusing on providing houses that meet national standards, currently set at 300 square feet under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana. While the standard may change at a national level, the SRA is committed to providing better quality housing, including amenities like air planning, ensuring a quality of life comparable to residents in other areas.
The authority is also actively addressing the economic viability of the project, ensuring a 50-50 split between the sales component and the rehabilitation component. This means that residents will receive homes with facilities and quality on par with those in the sales component, ensuring equitable access to better living standards.
Through a comprehensive drone survey, the SRA has identified over 2 lakh clusters of huts across Mumbai, ranging in size from small clusters to larger communities. The authority is working with government agencies to redevelop these clusters, ensuring that even smaller clusters are not overlooked.
“We have done a drone survey of the entire Mumbai. We have identified clusters of more than 3,000 huts. There’s something small in that cluster. Some are big. There are clusters of five thousand. There are clusters of some 25 to 30 huts. Clusters that are not economically viable to people don’t do that. If developers don’t benefit, they don’t,” he said.
