SRA to lenders, parties can submit proposals till February 1

Financial institutions have been encouraged by THE SLUM Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) to be recognised as lenders and co-developers in redevelopment projects for which they have contributed money. In addition, the SRA has given them the choice to choose an authorised representative or an agency to carry out the SRA scheme. Proposals can be submitted by interested parties until February 1. An official stated that putting the institutions funding these initiatives on record will ensure that these institutions will strive for the projects to be finished on schedule. The action is anticipated to speed up stalled and unfinished plans for slum redevelopment, according to an SRA official. In Mumbai alone, there are more than 500 SRA projects that have been in progress for more than ten years but have not yet been completed for a variety of reasons. Recently, a government resolution (GR) published in December 2022 permitted a change in the terminology of financial institutions that provided funding for some of these projects from co- developer to lender in the Letter of Intent (LOI) published by the SRA. The GR permitted making changes to the LOI form to include such institutions as co-developer/lenders and to endorse the implementation plan put out by a qualified institution they themselves or the SRA had selected. The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority would take on the SRA's stalled projects, according to housing minister Devendra Fadnavis (MHADA). The latter can pick up unfinished projects and either sell the marketable parts to a developer or take on the job itself and sell the homes on their own. However, before the SRA can transfer the projects to MHADA, an official announcement about the matter must be made.