The Maharashtra government has decided to create land bank so that huge chunks of land can be used for construction of affordable houses.

The state has prepared a draft of the new housing policy and it will soon be published for suggestions and objections. As per the draft policy guidelines, the state will create land banks in the city and the metropolitan region.

"The land will be exclusively reserved in the proposed development plan for construction of affordable houses. It will be in proportion to the population of affordable categories. The cost of the land is the main factor that affects affordability. So, it is necessary to pool together pieces of land from various sources, besides the government-owned plots," says the policy.

A senior government official from the state housing department said once the land is pooled, as per the draft, a master plan of it will be required. "It will help keep prices of affordable houses in check. The planned houses will be circumstanced with civic and social infrastructure to ensure that residents enjoy quality life," the official said, adding that all these aspects are at a rudimentary stage.

The draft policy also says FSI can be alternatively defined as function of supporting infrastructure. "The permissible FSI should be accompanied by optimum social and civic infrastructure. It should be in consonance with appropriate density of the population of that particular area. Rise in FSI won't address the problem of shortage in affordable homes. The excessive land available with Mhada, BMC, MMRDA and other government agencies should be used for boosting sustainable affordable housing. Also, there's a lot of unproductive land available after industries in MIDC zones relocated. That land too should be used for affordable houses," adds the policy.

The affordable housing stock needs to be allocated in 50:30:20 ratio to the Economically Weaker Section (EWS), Lower Income Group and Middle Income Group, respectively. "The draft policy, once approved, should be implemented on a war footing by constructing 1 lakh affordable housing units in the next three years, and six lakh such homes in the next six years to meet the growing demand. Having abundant supply (of homes) will also ease the skyrocketing prices," said another housing department official.

The draft adds, "The pooled land bank should be fully exploited for affordable housing only. The task of bringing the prices of such houses within the reach of EWS/LIG/MIG may be facilitated by forgoing profit from the project.

The regulatory authority needs to prescribe city-wise price caps, which shall be dynamic and revised every year in April. As another effort to keep prices in check, it is suggested to make sand and metal, which is quarried with government's permission, available at concessional prices. The government may reserve certain sand lots only for this project, at a price 20% below the average auction price. Similarly, the crushed metal can also be made available at a controlled rate."

"The quality of construction needs to be monitored through third-party checks, by a separate machinery under the regulatory authority. The approval processes in corporation need to be brought down to only three levels.

Projects should be approved within 30 days from the date of the submission," the draft policy states.