The Maharashtra Chief Minister, Mr Prithviraj Chavan, today said that there was a demand-supply mismatch to provide affordable housing to 70 lakh poor in the megapolis.

“One cannot look at Mumbai’s problems in isolation. It is not the multiplicity of agencies but the capacity slide that is causing problems. There is too much pressure due to scarcity of land in the city,” Mr Chavan said while interacting with journalists here.

The Chief Minister also criticised the concept of free housing in the city but admitted that reverting the decision is not easy.

Mr Chavan also expressed the need to review concepts of 3K and cluster development in slum rehabilitation projects and felt there is a necessity of transparency in the whole process.

Acknowledging Mumbai’s huge challenge of urbanisation, he said there is hope of giving affordable houses if the government monetises the value of land instead of giving it free of cost like in the slum rehabilitation projects.

“One has to monetise the value of land, then appoint a developer for construction. The remaining land (apart from construction) can be auctioned so that the Government can benefit,” he said.

Apart from housing, Mr Chavan felt the state faces challenges in agriculture, irrigation sectors and preserving natural resources such as land and water.

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