Special Township Policy allows developers to run townships in Maharashtra for 10 years

Under its Special Township Policy for Integrated Development, the Maharashtra Government has decided to grant permission to build private townships on at least 100 acre. The developers, however, will have to build the townships following norms of the Centre’s Smart Cities project. Developers building private townships on 100 acre or more in Maharashtra will be allowed to build and look after infrastructure – internal roads, water supply, electricity distribution and local transport – for the first 10 years, after which its governance will be handed over to a civic body. According to reports, the developers can also decide on the charges to be recovered from the occupants of the township for the first 10 years. After 10 years, the government will form a civic body for the area and that will take over the basic administration from the developer. The now-finalised Special Township Policy facilitates development of self-sufficient modern townships, with developers being tasked with providing and maintaining public amenities (gardens, playgrounds, town hall, school, health care facilities, police station, fire brigade); basic infrastructure; commercial activities (shopping complex and movie theatre); smart facilities (broadband connectivity and CCTV network for security); and public transport (to and from nearest railway station or bus station). Under the policy, developers will get 1.7 to 2 floor space index (FSI) to build the township. The state government has also made it mandatory for the developers to provide 20 per cent of the built-up area for affordable housing, including 5 per cent for rental housing. Further, while the government expects the new policy to boost development of private townships in the MMR as well as in the vicinity of cities such as Pune, Nashik and Nagpur, it has already received 22 proposals for building such townships and has set up a target of clearing 10 proposals every year, as per reports.