Site and Services

Site and Services Scheme in Bombay was initiated by World Bank in the year 1984-85 taking a cue from British architect-John Turner's approach of self help housing. Turner's central thesis argued that housing was best provided and managed by those who are to dwell in it rather than being centrally administered by the state.

In the sites and services projects, the government contributed by acquiring land laying infrastructure and then subdividing land into plots. The plots were then either leased or sold to eligible slum dwellers who could construct their own homes or through contractors incrementally. In Mumbai, the project delivered 88,000 plots and 17,000 apartments over 15 sites like Charkop, Gorai, Malvani, Kandivali and Vikroli and plot sizes ranging from 20 sq.mt to 100 sq.mts. For smaller plots the instalments were to be paid over a 20 year period.