The state government, which approved the board's proposal to extend tax concessions to tenants of old cessed buildings, has promised to amend the necessary laws within a month.

Announcing this at a press conference today, Madhu Chavan, chairman of MBRRB said, ``All taxes applicable including property tax, stamp duty etc for a 225 sq ft reconstructed tenement will be reduced to between Rs 225-250 per month.'' Chavan stated that in spite of last year's announcement to transfer reconstructed premises on an ownership basis to original tenants, the scheme had failed to elicit any response due to the high taxes charged by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the state government.

The board which is flush with funds for the year 1999-2000 also plans to to start work on 12 new reconstruction schemes byMarch 1999. Chavan declared that the Board had presented a surplus budget of Rs 133.21 crore for 1999-2000. The seventh budget was passed on February 12, 1999 and the expenditure expected is Rs 132.21 crore, he informed. The Board which in the last 30 years of its existence has reconstructed only about 380-odd buildings, now has elaborate plans to undertake reconstruction work on 111 schemes comprising 10,397 tenements.

According to Chavan, ``The BMC has approved 41 schemes under the modified Developmental Control (DC) rules whereby each tenement would have an area of 225 sq ft.'' In 20 cases Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) is in possession of the land as well and work will begin next month on 12 such schemes comprising 1417 flats, he added.

Reconstruction activity had practically come to a standstill in the last two years since the Board was awaiting the changes in the DC rules following recommendations made by the D M Sukhtankar committee report. The Board now gets four floorspace index (FSI) as against 3.19 it used to get earlier for reconstruction of old dilapidated cessed buildings.

Chavan further pointed out that the board had managed to up its collection from repair cess from the average Rs 30 crore for the last so many years to Rs 45 crore in 1998-99. He said that the BMC's assessment and collection department staff which used to collect the repair cess on their behalf used to fudge records.But after he introduced more accountability, things have improved, Chavan claimed.

The Board chairman outlined various other projects for the coming year which include: Completion of repair work on all 42 transit camps in the city at the cost of Rs 9.35 crore, construction of multi-storeyed transit camps at four places in order to exploit the unused FSI available on large plots. The new transit camps will be cross subsidised by building free sale flats on the vacated land. MHADA has further made a provision of Rs 11.28 crore to purchase 1190 tenements from B G Shirke group atMankhurd to be used as transit camps. The MBRRB had given nearly 6000 tenements in the existing transit camps to the SRA.