October 18, 2025

Mumbai is buzzing with action as Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde shakes things up ahead of the big BMC polls! On Tuesday, Shinde, who also wears the hat of state housing minister, transferred a whopping Rs 17.7 crore of pending rent directly to 883 families living in the Magathane Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) project. These families have been waiting for a long time to get their dues. The spotlight shines on the Devipada Cooperative Housing Society redevelopment project, which is nestled on a 30,287 sq m Mhada plot. But oh, what a delay! This project has been stuck for ages. The total rent owed to these brave slum dwellers is a massive Rs 46 crore, say SRA officers. Earlier this month, the builder managing the project gave Rs 17.7 crore to the SRA. Shinde wasted no time and pushed the amount straight to the eligible slum tenants. Political watchers say this is a smart move to charm voters in Magathane, where Shiv Sena’s Prakash Surve is the current MLA. Interestingly, the party aims to challenge the rival Shiv Sena (UBT) in the upcoming civic polls here. SRA CEO Mahindra Kalyankar, who’s all about making policy reforms, shared, "We have given a big push to collect all pending rent from builders so that slum dwellers don't suffer. While SRA is fast-tracking slum redevelopment, we are focusing on slum tenants and making sure they get their dues and projects are completed on time. We have made several policy interventions for this, and the recent amendments are a step in this direction too." The new rule, called circular 210, demands builders deposit rent two years in advance with the SRA. This ensures quick payment to slum tenants. What saves the day here is the amnesty scheme launched in 2022. Under this plan, financial institutions like NBFCs who invested in slow projects get a special chance to come on board as co-developers. They can redevelop these stuck projects smoothly, avoiding heavy penalties. On the Magathane front, a government committee brought in a financial institution as a co-developer this year to revive the project. The developer promised to pay Rs 29 crore as advance rent for two years. But the society raised a flag that Rs 46 crore is actually pending rent. On October 1, the developer deposited Rs 17.7 crore with SRA. The rest, Rs 28.3 crore, must be paid before the builder can get approval to start construction of the sale units. This bold move by Shinde has lit a spark of hope for Magathane’s slum families. With the amnesty scheme and faster rent collections, Mumbai’s slum redevelopment story is getting a fresh, colorful twist just before the polls!

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Tags: Bmc polls, Eknath shinde, Slum rehabilitation authority, Magathane, Pending rent, Amnesty scheme,