The Maharashtra cabinet decided to charge Rs 1,000 as stamp duty and agreement cost per house from residents of BDD ‘chawls’ in Mumbai which are being redeveloped by state-run housing agency MHADA.
The cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, cleared a proposal in this regard, said an official statement.
BDD (Bombay Development Directorate) ‘chawls’ (old row tenements) were developed during the British rule as low-cost housing units and they are now in a dilapidated condition.
As many as 207 such chawls were constructed between 1921 and 1925 and they are in prime locations in Mumbai like Worli, Naigaon, N M Joshi Road and Sewri. Each building is four storied and completed over 90 years. Hence, the state government has decided to redevelop these buildings, which will benefit 15,584 residents, said the statement.
Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) has already announced redevelopment of BDD chawls and as per an agreement, every eligible resident will get 500 sq ft home free of cost, the government said.
The new housing units will be free but the government will charge Rs 1,000 as stamp duty and agreement cost per house from eligible residents, it said.
The cabinet also cleared a proposal related to transfer of milk powder and butter lying with the government to Maharashtra state cooperative milk federation (Mahanand) for use by it for commercial purpose.
The Maharashtra government has implemented a special scheme to produce milk powder from excess milk collected by dairies during the lockdown period.
A total of 7,764 tonne of powder was produced during the period of which 3,247 tonne is now with Mahanand, the statement said. The state also has 459 tonne of butter with it.
The cabinet decided to transfer the unused milk powder and butter to Mahanand as working stock which it can use for commercial purpose, the statement said.
The cabinet also lauded Aditi Deepak Jadhav, the seventh standard student from Aurangabad who donated her Rs 2,000 prize money to the Chief Minister’s Relief fund. Jadhav had won a silver medal and cash prize of Rs 2,000 in Dr Homi Bhabha competition on science.
