Under CEO Kalyankar’s leadership, Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA), Brihanmumbai has transformed from a reactive body into a forward looking Urban Mission. His Vision 2030 roadmap is not about demolishing slums; it is about dismantling the conditions that produce them. He discusses the data, dilemmas, and decisions that will determine whether Mumbai can transition from a city of informality to a city of inclusion — and how he plans to ensure that every promise made to every family is a promise delivered.
Q. SRA is the Planning Authority for all slum areas — a landmark shift. But power does not automatically translate into speed. What restructuring and digital governance mechanisms have been introduced to ensure this mandate accelerates decision-making?
When the Government of Maharashtra entrusted SRA with full Planning Authority powers, we viewed it not merely as an administrative expansion, but as an opportunity to rewrite how the city approaches one of its most complex human challenges. Authority without agility creates stagnation; authority with accountability transforms outcomes.
The first thing we did was change the architecture of decision-making. We combined the single-window role with process re-engineering, defined responsibility at each approval stage, and early escalation of inter-agency dependencies. Five key checks now cover society and consent, eligibility, financial capacity, land records and planning reservations, so that deficiencies can be identified systematically rather than through repeated and fragmented scrutiny.
Digital governance is central to this restructuring. AutoDCR and online workflows for Acceptance, IOA, Commencement Certificate and Occupation Certificate reduce physical handling and create traceable decision trails. Digital Annexure II, GIS-based mapping, the Slum Information Management System, document management, online rent and grievance platforms, and an integrated monitoring dashboard give officers and stakeholders a common view of each scheme.
The aim is not merely to digitise existing paperwork, but to redesign decision-making around verified data, parallel processing, transparency and measurable timelines. When data becomes the core of governance, discretion reduces and timelines stabilise.
Q. SRA aims to digitally map every slum structure in Mumbai in the next few months — a major push for transparency and data-driven governance. What challenges have you faced, especially in dense informal settlements?
Digital mapping in dense informal settlements is not simply a technology exercise. The principal challenges include closely packed and vertically extended structures, narrow and inaccessible lanes, overlapping occupancy, frequent physical changes, unclear plot boundaries and the need to reconcile field observations with legacy records. A structure visible on imagery may not, by itself, establish occupancy, eligibility, ownership or entitlement.
The appropriate approach is therefore layered verification. GIS and imagery can create a common spatial base, but it must be supported by field surveys,
structure identification, geo-tagged evidence, historical records and a transparent process for correction or objection. The objective is to create a reliable planning and monitoring database while ensuring that mapping does not replace the due process required for determining individual rights.
Mapping is not surveillance. Mapping is the beginning of a reliable record. But it cannot become a shortcut to eligibility. That distinction must be protected at every stage.
Q. SRA has recently proposed the redevelopment of three mega clusters — Antop Hill, Majaswadi and Behrampada — while identifying additional large redevelopment zones across Mumbai. Are we witnessing the beginning of Mumbai’s next urban revolution? What larger vision do these mega clusters represent beyond slum rehabilitation?
Cluster redevelopment represents a shift from treating each scheme as an isolated construction project to planning an entire precinct. Its potential lies in consolidating fragmented land, coordinating infrastructure and addressing constraints that may make individual schemes difficult or unviable. At that scale, planning can provide an integrated network of roads, open spaces, public amenities, utilities, mobility connections and mixed uses, rather than producing stand-alone rehabilitation buildings.
The larger vision is therefore city renewal with inclusion. Rehabilitation housing remains the core entitlement, but the measure of success should also include safer neighbourhoods, livelihood access, schools, healthcare, public space, transport connectivity and long-term maintenance. If implemented transparently, with phased delivery and protection of existing communities, mega clusters can become a major instrument for planned and equitable urban transformation.
These are not just projects. They are opportunities to redesign how a neighbourhood functions over the next fifty years — where mobility comes before construction, public spaces matter as much as private homes, and social infrastructure is planned from the beginning, not added later.
Q. SRA has taken action under Section 13(2) of the Maharashtra Slum Areas Act in stalled projects. How does this align with the SRA 2.0 vision of a slum-free Mumbai, and what message does it send to the developer community?
SRA has demonstrated that development rights and rehabilitation obligations are inseparable. Since 2024, SRA has terminated builders from more than 450 stalled projects under Section 13(2) after hearings and due process. SRA records 243 terminations in 2024- 25, 154 in 2025-26 and 74 in 2026-27 up to August 2026.
SRA has acted where schemes were not developed within approved timelines or conditions, and has enabled cooperative housing societies to appoint a new developer or agency through the prescribed process.
The message to developers is clear: prolonged non-performance has consequences. But the affected scheme and the rehabilitation entitlement remain the focus of revival. This is not about punishing builders for its own sake. It is about restoring the scheme to the beneficiary. Development rights cannot be separated from delivery obligations.
Q. SRA’s Special Rent Adjudication and Recovery Cells have undertaken recovery of pending and advance rent. How can a structured financial recovery mechanism transform the lives of slum dwellers and the redevelopment ecosystem?
SRA has treated transit rent as a core household-security obligation. Its two Special Rent Adjudication and Recovery Cells, established under Circular No. 233 following directions of the Bombay High Court, have recovered around ₹1,600 crore in less than one year. This includes approximately ₹52 crore in pending rent and more than ₹1,500 crore as two years’ advance rent from builders.
Special Cell No. 1 has disposed of 1,862 of 2,058 cases, while Special Cell No. 2 has disposed of 1,548 of 1,687 cases; about 300 cases are under hearing. The cells have also passed orders for recovery of another ₹117 crore.
This structured mechanism has provided scrutiny, hearings, adjudication and recovery in one framework, giving eligible slum dwellers timely relief and making rent compliance a measurable developer obligation. When a family knows their rent is secured, they can participate in the redevelopment process with dignity.
Q. You took grievance redressal directly to Assembly constituencies through special camps. In an era of digital services, why bring governance to the doorstep physically?
Digital services expand access, but they do not eliminate the need for assisted and local engagement. Many redevelopment grievances involve documents, eligibility, rent, legal heirs, transfers, society disputes or scheme history. Residents may need help understanding the correct authority, assembling records or navigating a process that spans several agencies.
The camps were not a step backward from digital governance. They were a deliberate extension of it — taking the digital backbone and complementing it with physical presence, right where people live. In many cases, officers verified documents on the spot and issued resolution orders the same day. Where cases were more complex, they were prioritised for immediate hearings with a clear timeline communicated to the applicant.
These camps also created a triangular dialogue between citizens, local elected representatives and administrators. MLAs and corporators participated actively, which meant concerns were not merely registered in a file but heard in a public, accountable forum. When a woman walks into a camp with a stack of papers and walks out knowing she will receive her tenement letter within a month, you are not just solving a case — you are restoring dignity.
Q. In light of the recognition received under the 100-day Administrative Reform Programme, how did SRA’s reforms translate into tangible results for Mumbai’s slum dwellers and housing inventory?
Administrative recognition is meaningful only when it reflects a better citizen experience and stronger delivery. The relevant reforms include Governance Process Re-engineering, rationalisation of citizen services, identification of services suitable for end-to-end auto-delivery, online approval workflows, document management, e-Office, grievance systems and digital services relating to rent, transfers and legal-heir matters.
For citizens, the intended results are fewer physical visits, clearer status visibility, reduced duplication, traceable applications and more predictable decisions. For the housing programme, digital scrutiny and project monitoring create earlier visibility of deficiencies, stalled milestones and inter-agency constraints.
The institutional test is not the award itself, but whether these reforms contribute to faster lawful approvals, completed homes, reliable rent compliance and accessible grievance resolution. Recognition is a milestone. Delivery is the real scorecard.
Q. In what ways has SRA evolved into a citizen-centric body? How does it integrate and facilitate public participation?
A citizen-centric SRA begins by recognising that rehabilitation permanently affects a family’s home, tenure, livelihood and community network. Citizen participation therefore cannot be limited to obtaining signatures. It requires informed and verifiable consent where applicable, transparent eligibility determination, notice and hearing, access to approved documents, clear grievance channels and continued communication through construction and occupation.
SRA’s online services, application tracking, grievance platforms and assisted outreach can make participation more accessible and traceable. Society-level consultations, constituency camps and public-facing scheme information can further help residents understand entitlements, milestones, rent obligations and available remedies.
The objective is to reduce dependence on informal access and enable citizens to engage with the institution through documented, predictable processes. A citizen should not need a contact to know the status of their own home.
Q. Recent legislative amendments allow unpaid transit rent from defaulting developers to be recovered as land-revenue arrears, including through asset attachment or recovery. Will this act as an effective deterrent? How are you strengthening enforcement to prevent future defaults?
SRA has strengthened deterrence by giving unpaid transit rent an enforceable recovery route and by creating dedicated adjudication and recovery cells. The special cells have already recovered pending and advance rent at scale, disposed of thousands of cases and issued further recovery orders.
SRA has also linked developer benefits with rehabilitation and rent obligations, strengthened financial-capacity scrutiny and used digital rent records for monitoring. These measures have made default more visible, recovery more structured and beneficiary protection more enforceable.
Enforcement, when designed well, does not create fear — it creates discipline and trust. The law now recognises transit rent not merely as a commercial arrangement, but as a public obligation backed by the authority of the State. That shift changes behaviour.
Q. Evidence suggests that some clusters repeatedly go to a small group of developers. Is SRA considering a transparent selection matrix or rotation system to ensure fairness, innovation and prevent cartelisation? For stalled projects, will SRA intervene directly or through an SPV or Project Resuscitation Cell?
SRA has strengthened developer accountability through financial-capacity scrutiny, performance-based safeguards and action against defaulting developers. SRA has established the foundations of capability-based scrutiny through financial-capacity checks, restrictions on defaulting developers, rent-compliance safeguards and scheme-wise performance review.
These measures have enabled SRA to consider rehabilitation track record, construction capacity, funding arrangements and performance in existing schemes through a transparent and due-process-based framework. The shift is from ‘Who is familiar?’ to ‘Who is fit for purpose?’
For stalled projects, SRA has already used Section 13(2) to remove non-performing developers and has enabled societies to select replacement developers or agencies through prescribed resolutions. SRA has also retained revival routes such as lender participation, competitive re-tendering, public-agency joint ventures and cluster integration, depending on each scheme’s legal, physical and financial position.
Completion is a public obligation, not a private choice. When families have vacated their homes based on a promise, the State cannot be a distant observer.
Q. Transit camps across Mumbai are overcrowded, deteriorated, and in some cases old. Is SRA planning a Transit Housing Modernisation Mission covering redevelopment, re-housing, rental caps, minimum area, ventilation and digital rent tracking?
Transit accommodation should be treated as a core component of rehabilitation, not as an indefinite holding arrangement. A modernisation framework would need to begin with an asset-wise condition and occupancy assessment, clear responsibility for maintenance, safety and habitability standards, transparent allotment, and a time-bound pathway either to permanent rehabilitation or to upgraded transit accommodation where continued use is necessary.
Digital rent tracking can strengthen accountability by recording dues, payments, defaults and beneficiary status in one auditable system. Any broader reform of rental caps, minimum area, ventilation or service standards should be evidence-based, legally grounded and linked to local rental conditions and household needs.
The objective must be safe, dignified and temporary accommodation, with prolonged transit treated as a project failure requiring escalation. If redevelopment is the journey, transit is the bridge — and that bridge must be strong.
Q. How did the Slum Rehabilitation Authority secure the 2nd rank among 99 Government organisations in Maharashtra’s 150-Day E-Governance Reform Programme?
The ranking reflects a structured programme of governance process re-engineering rather than the introduction of a single digital tool. SRA reviewed citizen-facing services, rationalised workflows, identified services suitable for end-to-end auto-delivery and expanded online systems for approvals, document management, grievances, rent, transfers and legal-heir matters. AutoDCR and digital workflows for key building-permission stages have also helped reduce physical handling and create auditable decision trails.
The broader approach has been to link technology with accountability: standardised scrutiny, defined timelines, status visibility and integrated monitoring. The significance of the recognition lies in demonstrating that a complex planning and rehabilitation authority can move toward measurable, citizen-facing reform.
The lasting measure, however, will be whether these systems consistently produce faster lawful decisions, fewer repeat submissions, stronger project monitoring and easier access for residents. The rank is encouraging. The outcome is what matters.
Q. SRA secured second rank among state headquarters under the Rajiv Gandhi Administrative Dynamism Campaign. What does that recognition signal about the administrative culture you are building?
The recognition signals a shift toward measurable reform, process ownership and citizen-focused administration. The intended culture is one in which decisions are traceable, services are standardised, data is shared across functions and officers are accountable for defined timelines rather than for movement of files alone.
At the same time, rankings are milestones, not the final measure of institutional performance. The real scorecard remains completed and legally compliant homes, fewer stalled schemes, reliable transit-rent protection, faster predictable decisions, transparent digital status and citizens who can navigate SRA without dependence on informal access.
An enduring administrative culture is one in which these outcomes continue beyond any individual officer or campaign period. The task now is to sustain this momentum, deepen these services, and ensure that the administrative dynamism demonstrated becomes the permanent DNA of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority. Chief Executive Officer & Officer on Special Duty – Dharavi Redevelopment Project Slum Rehabilitation
A slum-free Mumbai demands more than intent — it requires strong policy direction, coordinated governance, and administrative precision. With the state government setting the vision, the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) is working to translate this commitment into measurable outcomes through accountability, streamlined implementation, and metropolitan-scale redevelopment planning. With 2030 as a defining horizon, the focus remains on accelerating rehabilitation, addressing implementation bottlenecks, and advancing a more inclusive and sustainable urban future for Mumbai. DR. MAHENDRA KALYANKAR, IAS Chief Executive Officer & Officer on Special Duty – Dharavi Redevelopment Project Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA), Mumbai
