The Maharashtra government is determined to bring Marathi-speaking families back to Mumbai by providing affordable housing, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said on Thursday.
Replying to a debate under Rule 293 in the assembly, Shinde said the Mahayuti government is carrying out a massive urban transformation of Mumbai that will usher in “historic changes” in the lives of its residents.
He said the government has framed a new housing policy to build 3.5 million affordable homes with an investment of Rs 70,000 crore. The houses will be environmentally sustainable and cater to economically weaker sections.
“We are fulfilling the long-pending dream of common citizens to own a home in Mumbai. The city’s makeover is truly taking shape during the Mahayuti government’s tenure,” Shinde told the House.
He informed the assembly that 556 flats in Worli under the BDD chawl redevelopment project will be allotted by August 15, with 25 per cent of homes to be distributed by December. The project will ultimately benefit 15,600 tenants.
Redevelopment work has also begun at Motilal Nagar in Goregaon and GTB Nagar, covering more than 4,900 residents. In Kamathipura’s Abhyudaya Nagar, the tendering process for group housing redevelopment is underway and is expected to be completed by September 2025, benefitting over 11,000 tenants, he said.
Other cluster redevelopment projects in Adarsh Nagar (Worli), Bandra Reclamation and Naigaon are progressing steadily, Shinde said. The MMRDA has floated tenders for rehabilitating 6,144 slum dwellers in Ramabai Ambedkar Nagar under Phase 1 of the Eastern Freeway extension project.
He added that the government will boost housing stock for Mumbai’s mill workers, many of whom were forced to move out of the city due to rising living costs.
A dedicated app has been launched to register mill workers, and 1.74 lakh workers have been identified. So far, 13,161 homes have been allotted through four MHADA lottery phases, Shinde told the assembly.
Homes for another one lakh workers are being planned across seven sites in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region under the affordable housing scheme, the deputy chief minister added.
He reiterated that the Dharavi redevelopment project remains a flagship plan of the government and a major step towards creating a ‘smart Mumbai’.
Describing it as one of the world’s largest slum redevelopment projects, he said it would rehabilitate around 72,000 families. “This is not just infrastructure development, but a model for employment, education, healthcare and social harmony,” Shinde said.
Shinde noted that amendments made to the BMC Act, 1888, during his tenure as chief minister helped complete pending SRA projects. These changes will benefit 4 million slum dwellers and realise Balasaheb Thackeray’s dream of a slum-free Mumbai, he said.
He also informed the House that the ongoing road concretisation drive in the city is addressing complaints about potholes in incomplete stretches. A zonal agency system is now operational under the BMC, which has cut pothole repair costs by 50 per cent this year, he said.
A dedicated online complaints portal has been launched, and IIT Bombay has been engaged for technical support, Shinde added.
He further said that under the ‘Hinduruday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray Aapla Dawakhana’ initiative, Rs 1,106 crore will be spent over four years to strengthen primary healthcare and diagnostic services across the state.
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