G AnanthakrishnanThe case of a housing society promoted three decades ago by Tamil Nadu Housing Board (TNHB) on a 12-acre complex in Padi village of Ambattur taluk has turned public attention to the issue of whether affordable housing is a consideration when big land parcels are redeveloped into multiple towers through a joint venture private builder.In 1961, TNHB was created through legislation to act as the people’s builder, and form housing schemes for units priced according to purchasing power for low, middle and high income groups, rather than speculative values. Rental accommodation to make inner-city housing possible for the middle and low income groups was a second imperative.Over time, steady urbanisation in Tamil Nadu has created peak demand for inner city housing. The impact of market dynamics on property makes govt-led affordable housing crucial.The definition of affordable housing took a surprising turn, when NITI Aayog last year defined it as a “dwelling unit with a carpet area of up to 60sqm in metropolitan cities and 90sqm in non-metropolitan cities, with a value not exceeding `60 lakh in metropolitan areas and `45 lakh in non-metropolitan areas.” Contextually, an affordable metro house would thus cost 240 months of a blue collar industrial worker’s wage of `25,000, going by data cited by a former adviser to the PM’s Economic Advisory Council. TN rules define affordable dwellings as less than 40sqm area in Chennai and 60sqm in the rest of the state.Such definitions automatically push up baseline property prices, making it impossible for the majority to buy even an affordable house and the TNHB’s role as the builder of last resort becomes important. It has carried out many projects in recent times, but has a bad strike rate on sales.The first review of TNHB by the TVK govt in July took note of several unsold board properties. These towering flats are found around Chennai and Coimbatore, and as they lay vacant for long, it was proposed in 2025 that they be allotted as police quarters. Many old MIG and HIG apartments that the board promoted with large land areas in Anna Nagar, KK Nagar, Besant Nagar, Ashok Nagar and JJ Nagar have been redeveloped by owners through private builders over the years.The Padi flats are an interesting case study. There are 634 two and three bedroom apartments here built by TNHB with MMDA approval in 1988. TNHB retained about 11,800sqft land for shops and a school, 45,000sqft was marked for open space reservation and 21,000sqft set apart as a land bank to be sold to others.When the proposal to demolish the apartments and put up multiple tall towers in the complex came up recently, residents were left pondering how their 2.96 lakh sqft UDS, besides the publicly owned land, would meet affordability expectations and maintain equity. Could all existing residents afford high maintenance costs for large apartments in a new gated community supplanting an old-style residential colony, and would the new design by a private builder provide for small, affordable flats? Would existing residents simply have to cash out prematurely? Could the narrow road where the existing complex sits be able to take traffic of 1,300 cars for which the new plan is to provide parking spaces?The dilemmas have led to many loud demands from residents’ associations: since TNHB land is subsidised and originally had quotas for defence and SC/ST beneficiaries, it must maintain its social housing character even in redevelopment schemes; Housing Board could cut costs by carrying out redevelopment on its own, without private partnerships; CMDA should disallow massive expansion in old TNHB units located on narrow roads as this would paralyse traffic; bidders for redevelopment should get CMDA certification for financial soundness and technical capacity and have a public balance sheet; certified builders should be listed in a public directory.Also, the TNHB Act provides for value capture through a betterment fee for land that gets a price lift thanks to its housing scheme. This provision should cover public lands in redevelopment projects.Under Section 13 of the TN Apartment Act which enables redevelopment with the support of two-thirds of property owners, a public meeting of owners with the housing board and local body officials should be mandatory. Legal vetting of large contracts is necessary to protect the interests of owners who often rely on savings or credit. A culture of openness was advocated to the TNHB at the review meeting last month by housing minister B Rajkumar.Legal due diligence can prevent technical lapses and fraud. Also, lack of transparency and oppression of members who seek clarity on redevelopment at meetings becomes a valid ground to challenge an association’s decision.As costs shoot up, two strong trends mark sprawl in the Chennai metropolitan area, now spread across 5,904sqkm. Speculative land values have spread to three neighbouring districts and govts try to mollify public frustration with promises of new roads and expanded urban rail including metro.But such projects take years to fructify. When the C Joseph Vijay govt took over, the real estate sector sought not just a clean-up of the approvals process, but a higher FSI. The govt delegated powers to CMDA to approve high rise buildings and there is expectation of higher FSI near metro and suburban rail.Evidently, this policy should make a big vertical social housing programme feasible, especially near mass transport hubs. Good design and environmental values are key.Rather than prescribe mandatory car parking facilities in high rise buildings, only a few paid parking spaces should be made available, consistent with the goal of transit-oriented development (dense housing and offices near transport hubs and walkability) of the government. The contradiction of CMDA permitting car-centric luxury flats worth `8cr each next to metro stations (as on Anna Salai), rather than affordable flats attracting actual metro users, is all too glaring.Centre’s affordable housing schemes are limited in scope, since they are primarily meant for specified economically weaker sections or offer a small grant or interest subsidy on loans. Performance on affordable urban rental housing is weaker.At a policy level, major investments in metro, urban rail and large bus termini should help reinvent TNHB for a new era. Dense housing for low and middle income segments, led by rental houses with parks, playgrounds and wetlands must form the core focus of a new, transparent organisation. For a start, the details of properties that the board owns must be published to help monitor changes to their use. GOs on land alienation must be published online.Such a recasting of priorities can stop unregulated sprawl into districts abutting big cities and towns, where residents are forced to move, without access to good services and encountering painfully long commutes everyday.(The writer is a Chennai-based journalist)
