The Maharashtra government, on January 10, 2018, issued a notification announcing proposed amendments to the Development Control Rule 32 for Greater Mumbai.
The amendments seek to grant additional, optional 0.50 floor space index (FSI) over the basic 1.33 FSI, for buildings fronting on roads with a width of minimum nine meters and above, in the island city area of the megapolis.
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The intention of the proposed amendments, is to raise revenue through a premium. 25 per cent each of this additional revenue, shall be used in the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DPR) and Bandra-Versova sea link project. Besides this, 25 per cent of the premium shall be shared by the state government and the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), the government said.
The government, in December 2015, approved the modification in the existing clause of regulation 32, by allowing additional 0.5 FSI, by recovering premium at the rate of 60 per cent of the land rates. The government now has decided to allow an additional 0.5 FSI in the island city of Mumbai by recovering premium as allowed in the suburbs and extended suburbs. The additional 0.50 FSI shall not be applicable for industrial users. It will be subject to Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) and other restrictions in the DCR. The additional 0.50 FSI is optional and non-transferable.
Opposing the decision, Congress MLC Anant Gadgil said allowing additional FSI will put further stress on basic amenities in the city while benefiting the builders. “Being an architect, I have been opposing the proposal for a long time. They should, instead, build sub-growth centres between Mumbai-Pune, Pune-Nashik and Mumbai-Nashik,” Gadgil said.
