BMC’s ‘affordable homes’ still not in the budget of the poor: Experts
“There is no such thing as affordable housing in Mumbai, and the inclusive housing policy was never conceived to change that. The political will to create affordable housing is missing due to pressures from the builder-politician-bureaucrat nexus,” said an expert
Mumbai: Come Diwali, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will put on sale 186 “inclusive homes” or apartments developed under the Development Control and Promotion Regulations (DCPR), 2034. The apartments, priced at ₹63 lakh to ₹1 crore, will be sold via lottery to economically weaker sections (EWS) and low income groups (LIG) whose annual income is below ₹6 lakh and ₹9 lakh, respectively, officials aware of the matter told Hindustan Times. But housing experts said the homes were not at all affordable for the target groups and blamed the builder-politician-bureaucrat nexus for the high prices.
“This will be the first occasion when the civic body puts apartments under its inclusive housing policy on sale,” said an official from BMC’s estate department.
The clause for inclusive housing was introduced in 2018, under regulation 15 of DCPR 2034. It states that 20% of the area/ homes in residential projects on plots measuring 4,000 square metres or more must be handed over to the BMC. The civic body, in turn, must reserve a fifth of the homes for project affected people (PAP) while the remaining must be sold to EWS and LIG buyers.
As per the Maharashtra State Housing Policy, 2025, the maximum area for homes under EWS and LIG categories can go up to 322 sqft and 645 sqft, respectively.
The BMC received possession of the first tranche of homes under its inclusive housing policy in 2020, when 34 apartments in Kanjurmarg were handed over to the civic body, said the official quoted earlier.
{{/usCountry}}The BMC received possession of the first tranche of homes under its inclusive housing policy in 2020, when 34 apartments in Kanjurmarg were handed over to the civic body, said the official quoted earlier.
{{/usCountry}}“At 34, the number of apartments available was too low to conduct a lottery, so nothing was done to them. But over the past few years, we have got possession of 134 apartments, including the ones at Kanjurmarg,” the official said.
{{/usCountry}}“At 34, the number of apartments available was too low to conduct a lottery, so nothing was done to them. But over the past few years, we have got possession of 134 apartments, including the ones at Kanjurmarg,” the official said.
{{/usCountry}}Among the 134 flats, 107 can be sold to EWS and LIG buyers, while the remaining 27 must be allotted to PAPs, as per regulation 15 of DCPR 2034. The BMC hopes to get possession of another 108 inclusive homes within the next six months, of which 79 can be sold to EWS and LIG buyers, the official added.
{{/usCountry}}Among the 134 flats, 107 can be sold to EWS and LIG buyers, while the remaining 27 must be allotted to PAPs, as per regulation 15 of DCPR 2034. The BMC hopes to get possession of another 108 inclusive homes within the next six months, of which 79 can be sold to EWS and LIG buyers, the official added.
{{/usCountry}}Accordingly, the civic body is planning to conduct a lottery around Diwali to sell the 186 inclusive homes. Of the total, 122 homes will be offered to EWS buyers, while the remaining 64 will be for LIG buyers. A notice for the sale will be published in the coming week and the lottery applications will be due after that. Applicants would have to pay ₹1,000 as application fee alongside a refundable deposit of ₹10,000, the officials added.
Housing expert Chandrashekar Prabhu said the homes did not meet international standards on affordability, which designated a house as affordable only if its price was within a buyers’ income over five years.
According to this criteria, homes meant for EWS and LIG buyers, earning less than ₹6 lakh and ₹9 lakh respectively, should have been priced at a maximum of ₹30 lakh and ₹45 lakh.
While the actual price was more than double these rates, builders gained the most from the inclusive housing policy as they received several incentives including extra floor space index for providing affordable homes, Prabhu noted.
“There is no such thing as affordable housing in Mumbai, and the inclusive housing policy was never conceived to change that. The political will to create affordable housing is missing due to pressures from the builder-politician-bureaucrat nexus,” he said.
Homes for PAPs
Since 2015, the BMC has received possession of 213 homes reserved for public housing and high density housing under the Development Control Regulations, 1991, previously in force. Among these, 202 homes have been handed over to PAPs, officials said.