Housing Development & Infrastructure Limited to construct 43,000 houses for middle and lower-middle-class

The Housing Development & Infrastructure Limited (HDIL) on Tuesday announced construction of 43,000 houses measuring 160 sq ft each in Virar, giving boost to the state’s rental housing scheme. HDIL will construct these low-cost houses spread over 525 acres, 2 km away from Virar railway station, in four phases.

As per the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority’s rental housing scheme, the developer will be allowed to construct residential complex on the same land including 15 per cent commercial exploitation. HDIL will be constructing 90,000 houses on 225 -acre land targeting the middle and lower-middle-class.

HDIL Managing Director Sarang Wadhawan said, “The benefit of such schemes is not just affordable housing, but a transformation in the minds of people through enhanced possibilities for education, income generation and better health for residents.”

The first 10,000 units will be ready by March 2011. The self-contained units will be 14-storeyed quake resistant buildings. While the entire project of around 56 million sq ft is expected to finish in 2015. Along with the low-cost houses, the developer will also construct social infrastructure including school, shopping centres, playground, garden etc. The MMRDA will also develop four-lane roads from the highway and a skywalk from Virar station to the site, regular water supply, electricity and other off-site infrastructural back-up.

However, the pace of the scheme was hit due to the ongoing global recession. According to the estimates of MMRDA, they planned to float 6,000 houses in Vasai, but so far only 150 houses are ready in that project being developed by Dhanashree Developers. “I must say, the global recession played a major role. Otherwise our progress would have been much faster. We wanted to complete 6,000 houses by May end,” Metropolitan Commissioner, Ratnakar Gaikwad said.

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