Maharashtra to allow slum-dwellers to sell SRA flats in five years
The state housing department will soon allow the beneficiaries of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) projects to sell their houses in five years instead of 10 years. The announcement to reduce the lock-in period was made by housing minister Jitendra Awhad in the Assembly on Tuesday. The decision has been taken on the basis of a recommendation made by a cabinet sub-committee that was constituted in 2017 to examine the policy on the sale and purchase of SRA tenements. In 2017, the sub-committee was headed by then housing minister Prakash Mehta. Now headed by Awhad, the sub-committee presented its report late last year. Under the SRA scheme, slum-dwellers get houses free of cost but they can't sell or rent them out for 10 years. If sold after the lock-in period, the state government is entitled to an amount equivalent to stamp duty or Rs 1 lakh, whichever is higher. However, according to the housing department records, 13,000 SRA flat owners in Mumbai flouted the lock-in period and resold their property between 2011 and 2017. Irrespective of the new decision to halve the lock-in period, these owners will have to pay the state government 10 per cent of the current ready reckoner rate as penalty.
Tags : News/Views