Pune Slum Rehab Projects May Get 2.5 FSI Soon

PUNE: Like the slum rehabilitation projects in Mumbai, the project in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad may also get 2.5 FSI (floor space index), chief minister Ashok Chavan said here on Friday.
Speaking at the inauguration of the Rajiv Gandhi housing complex at Kashiwadi, Chavan stressed that with the additional FSI, people should get small houses at affordable prices. At the function, Chavan handed over the ownership papers of the tenements to the people whose houses had been destroyed in a major fire in March 2005 in the Kashiwadi slum area in Bhavani Peth. Chavan appreciated the initiative taken by state minister for home Ramesh Bagwe for completing the housing complex despite several administrative and other social hurdles.
“I had received representations from various leaders saying that just as the government has sanctioned 2.5 FSI for slum rehabilitation schemes in Mumbai, the same should be made applicable for Pune city. The government will soon issue orders to this effect for Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. With this additional FSI, I don’t expect to see tall buildings. The buildings should have maximum number of small houses which should be available at affordable rates to the common people,” Chavan said.
He observed that buying houses in the city has become highly unaffordable and this is the reason why there is proliferation of slums. The government, he said, is taking up an elaborate programme for rehabilitation of slums. In rural areas too, people below poverty line would be able to get houses at very low prices. The government, he said, will be building ten lakh low-cost houses in rural areas.
Explaining the significance of the launch of the Unique Identification Number from Maharashtra, Chavan said the state will soon revamp the welfare schemes for the poor so that they get maximum benefits without any hassles.
Others who spoke on the occasion included state minister for marketing and co-operation Harhavardhan Patil, Congress secretary Pravin Rashtrapal, and Avinash Bagwe. Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi made a surprise appearance at the programme.