CONSTRUCTION of 10 lakh houses for the poor and lower middle class and a load-shedding free Maharashtra will be on the agenda of the state government for the next two years, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh announced in Mumbai on Wednesday. He said that whatever land the State government has freed after the scrapping of the Urban Land Ceiling and Regulation Act (ULCRA), would be used up for providing affordable houses for the lower and middle classes in the State. "In Pune, 538 hectares released after the scrapping of ULCRA, except reserved land, would be used up for slum rehabilitation," he said. The 538 hectares comprise land against which cases were pending and was in the "deemed possession of the government." Now, according to the Chief Minister, this land, except for the reserved land, can be used for slum rehabilitation. The State Government is also set to push ahead the proposed ring road around Pune. "We are contemplating to give an additional TDR (Transfer of Development Rights) or FSI (Floor Space Index) for the development of the ring road and will soon take a decision on that," Deshmukh said. Deshmukh said, "The State-owned land acquired after the repeal of ULCRA would be used for residential purposes. However, for privately owned land, released after the ULCRA repeal, we are going to make alterations in the policy. On such land, the developers should construct houses of 40, 60 and 80 sq metres each, which will make available housing at low rates for lower and middle classes. If they do so, we can provide them extra FSI and for that we will make changes in the government regulations. This way, the lower rungs of society will be able to get housing at affordable rates."