Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis Friday said large tracts of land held by the Union defence and railways ministries in Mumbai would be used for slum redevelopment schemes.

The chief minister also said the cut-off date for eligibility of slums for the redevelopment project in Mumbai was likely to be extended till December 31, 2000. At present, the cut-off date is January 1, 2000. The decision will benefit 2.5 lakh additional slum dwellers across Mumbai and its suburbs. The government is committed to provide housing under slum redevelopment to all those who became residents of Mumbai before December 31, 2000. It means the slums which sprung up in the city after December 31, 2000, will not be considered for the SRA project.

The conservative estimate puts the land held by the Union ministries of defense and railways in Mumbai at 38,000 acres. However, it needs to be verified how much of the land is under litigation or encroached upon.

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Fadnavis emphasised, “The state government is committed to housing for all by 2022.”

At least 80,000 slum dwellers on airport land are to be relocated as airport expansion plans drawn up by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the government of Maharashtra are under way.

However, slum dwellers are unwilling to move to distant suburbs and want houses close to their present vicinity.