Mumbai News: SRA Tenement Lock

Mumbai: The state government has tabled a proposal to reduce lock-in period for SRA tenements from 10 to seven years. Once the bill is approved, the flats received by slum owners can be sold on completion of seven years.

Earlier this month, the government tabled the bill to amend The Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and Redevelopment) Act, 1971, to decrease the transfer period of redeveloped slum tenements to seven years.

So far, the lock-in period has been 10 years. In other words, the beneficiaries who have got rehabilitated from a shanty to a building could not sell or transfer the property from the date of possession for a decade.

This subject was discussed and approved in one of the state’s Cabinet meetings held in March. The lock-in period for homes purchased directly from Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority is five years.

Bill Passed After Multiple Requests Regarding Long Lock-In Period

The bill tabled in the Monsoon Session of the assembly reads that the lock-in period is excessively long and there is a need to reduce it. The government has received several requests and representations from people asking for a reduction. Owing to the lengthy lock-in duration, there has been a surge in illegal transfer of rehabilitated units in SRA projects.

Despite the lock-in period regulations in place, rehabilitated units continue to be sold illegally. The tenement owners sell the property by signing a caretaker undertaking and with a verbal assurance of signing the agreement for sale on completion of the lock-in period.

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