Mumbai cops can rent a house, own it later

NEW DELHI: If Maharashtra government has its way, some police constables may soon get residential quarters in India’s costliest city of Mumbai, only to get ownership at the time of retirement. In the first of such an experiment in the country, the Maharashtra government may partner with Hudco for securing 90% of the project cost as loan, a part of which will be repaid as EMIs by the occupants, an official privy to the matter said.

Hudco chairman VP Baligar confirmed, “If this model works for Mumbai, we are ready to extend this to other state police housing corporations as well.” He added that the yet-to-be launched programme could be named “Rent-to-own scheme”.

Lack of official accommodation is often cited as a reason for low-rung policemen becoming corrupt and neglecting official duties. Only 5.4 lakh policemen in India manage to get official quarters, forcing two of three policemen to depend on rented accommodation. In an earlier conversation with ET Magazine, former home secretary GK Pillai identified this as a major issue in big cities where rents are very high.

In the proposed “rent-to-own scheme” for low-level policemen, the Maharashtra government may soon identify the land where such housing colonies will come up. According to plans, once a policeman is allotted a flat, a little more than his HRA will be deducted from his salary every month. The deduction will be planned in such a way that his dues will be over by the time he retires, and ultimately he becomes the owner of the flat, the officer said on condition of anonymity.