Govt ban on construction near Arthur Rd jail to hit SRA projects.

The state government's proposed notification prohibiting new construction within 500 m of jails in the Maharashtra is set to hit Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) projects by major realtors in the vicinity of Arthur Road jail in Mumbai. Residents of slum sprawls in and around the jail have now formed Jail Hatao Sangarsh Samiti and are petitioning the state government to shift the 3,000-odd prison inmates to Taloja jail in Navi Mumbai so that the SRA projects can go ahead.

Lokhandwala Infrastructure and DB Realty are major players in this central Mumbai belt, in addition to a few lesser known builders. The new rule, if enforced, is set to upset the blueprint of at least a dozen SRA projects that Lokhandwala has been in talks with. Many of the proposed skyscrapers, which would be constructed as part of the sale component of the SRA projects, are to come up on prime land overlooking the Mahalaxmi racecourse.

INDIANEXPRESS