The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) has informed the Bombay High Court that the deadline for completing the rehabilitation component of the Patra Chawl project in Mumbai's Goregaon (West) is May 2024. MHADA has also assured the court that it is making all efforts to finish the construction by 2023. However, MHADA's officers were unable to make a firm commitment to an earlier completion date.
A detailed reported regarding the same was published in the Indian Express.
Arrears and transit rent payments
The High Court has also asked MHADA about the unpaid arrears owed by the defaulter developer to the persons who had vacated their homes for the redevelopment and are awaiting redeveloped premises. The court has directed MHADA to expedite the process of completing the construction and delivering possession to the original occupants. The court has also asked MHADA to make provisions for paying transit rent to society members from the date when it took over the completion of the building.
Recovery of financial costs
The court asked MHADA whether it had any proposal for the recovery of financial costs and from where it would recover the amounts. On April 3, the bench dismissed an interim application by one of the aggrieved members of the society who had wanted the court to ascertain whether MHADA permitting the developer to encash the saleable component of the project before completing the rehab component was in line with "principle." The bench held that the application was "raking up the past but suggesting nothing for the future" and dealing with such a plea would create more problems and delay a solution to the issue.
Background of the Patra Chawl project
The Patra Chawl project, also known as Siddharth Nagar, is located in the northern Mumbai suburb of Goregaon. It consisted of a total of 672 houses, spread over an area of 47 acres. The developer, Guru Ashish Constructions Private Limited, which was appointed to rehouse society members by constructing rehab tenements in consideration of free sale development component, had defaulted in completing the project. MHADA took over the responsibility of completing the project.
Pleas related to the redevelopment project
A division bench of Justice Gautam S Patel and Justice Neela K Gokhale has been hearing pleas related to the redevelopment project. The court also heard an interim application by fifteen persons who claimed that, though they had purchased flats in the saleable component of the project, they could not take possession of the same due to a lack of Occupation Certificate (OC). The applicants claimed that though the buyers had received relief after the HC had directed MHADA to issue OCs, the persons who had vacated their houses for the project were still awaiting their redeveloped premises.
Court's approach
The court noted that while the applicant/petitioner would want to argue the matter on a public policy angle, "it is too late" for that, and "going down that path will prejudice the Society and MHADA very considerably." The bench adopted a pragmatic approach to ensure that the Society members get their homes and their transit rent. It said that it would keep the issue, especially those raised by original tenants, pending "so that it would issue directions periodically until the society members are given possession and receive the compensation amount that is legitimately found payable to them." The court added, "That is our primary and overriding concern."
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