The Maharashtra government has constituted an 11-member Expert Committee to conduct a comprehensive Performance Audit of the Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and Redevelopment) Act, 1971, following directions issued by the Bombay High Court in a suo motu writ petition.
The Housing Department issued a Government Resolution on July 31, 2026, citing the Bombay High Court’s May 8, 2026 order in Suo Motu Writ Petition No. 1 of 2024. The government resolution states that the High Court had directed the constitution of an Expert Committee to undertake the Performance Audit of the 1971 Act.
Why the Performance Audit has been ordered
The government resolution refers to the Supreme Court matter of “Yash Developers versus Harihar Krupa Cooperative Housing Society” and notes that a large number of cases relating to the Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and Redevelopment) Act, 1971, reach the courts.
Against this backdrop, the Bombay High Court initiated suo motu proceedings to examine issues concerning the functioning of the Act. The High Court’s exercise involved considering submissions from various stakeholders, including developers, landowners, cooperative housing societies and legal professionals.
The government has now formally approved the formation of the Expert Committee to undertake the Performance Audit.
Who is on the Expert Committee?
The committee will be headed by the Additional Chief Secretary, Housing Department, Government of Maharashtra.
The Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Development Department-1, will serve as a member. The committee also includes MLA Parag Alavani, former Lok Sabha member Rahul Shewale, senior officials from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and Pune Municipal Corporation, the Director of Town Planning, architects and representatives from the architectural profession.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA), Brihanmumbai, has been appointed as the Member Secretary.
What will the committee examine?
The committee has been assigned three broad responsibilities.
First, it will conduct the Performance Audit of the Maharashtra Slum Areas (Improvement, Clearance and Redevelopment) Act, 1971.
Second, it will examine the issues identified by the Bombay High Court in its May 8, 2026 order in Suo Motu Writ Petition No. 1 of 2024, along with recommendations submitted by various stakeholders and legal professionals in the appendix to the court’s order.
Third, the committee will make recommendations aimed at accelerating slum rehabilitation schemes so that slum residents can be provided with dignified living conditions and the objective of creating slum-free cities can be pursued.
Committee gets 10 months
The Expert Committee has been given 10 months to study the issues and submit its recommendations to the state government.
The government resolution describes the Performance Audit as a wide-ranging exercise and says it needs to be completed within the timeframe prescribed by the High Court.
SRA to create a supporting sub-committee
Given the wide scope of the exercise, the government has also directed the Chief Executive Officer of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority to establish a sub-committee to assist the Expert Committee.
The sub-committee is expected to include representatives from SRA departments dealing with engineering, cooperative matters, finance, land acquisition, eligibility and ineligibility of hutment dwellers, town planning and other relevant areas.
This mechanism is intended to provide the Expert Committee with departmental expertise and assistance while it undertakes the audit.
Potential significance for Mumbai’s redevelopment sector
The Performance Audit could become significant for Mumbai’s slum rehabilitation and redevelopment sector because the committee has been specifically asked to examine the functioning of the 1971 Act, consider stakeholder and legal recommendations, and suggest measures to speed up rehabilitation.
However, the Government Resolution itself does not specify what amendments, policy changes or procedural reforms the committee will ultimately recommend. Those recommendations are to emerge after the committee completes its study and submits its report to the government.
The resolution has been issued by the Maharashtra Housing Department and is digitally signed by Under Secretary Sunil Unkarde. The government has also made the resolution available through the Maharashtra government website under computer code 202607311608003009.
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