‘Builders to face heat for tweaking FSI in suburbs’ …….S Balakrishnan I tnn
Mumbai: Builders have violated floor space index (FSI) norms in 234 cases in the suburbs despite a PIL pending in court, sources in the BMC have said. It is also learnt that the civic body is contemplating action against the developers concerned.
Earlier this year, the government raised FSI in the suburbs from 1 to 1.33. Following this, builders involved in several ongoing projects started using the additional .33 FSI hoping to get their modified plans approved by the BMC. But the Bombay high court, in response to a PIL filed by advocate Y P Singh on behalf of activists Amit Maru and Arun Gaikwad, stayed the government’s decision.
Singh pointed out that any builder using an FSI of more than 1 could face contempt proceedings. In the PIL, he contended that the grant of extra .33 FSI was illegal as it amounted to a major modification of the development plan for Mumbai and that too without following the procedures laid down under the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act.
Singh said an increase in FSI up to 10% would have constituted a minor modification, which was permitted under the law. But a 33% hike in FSI was announced by the government and implemented with immediate effect without waiting for objections and suggestions from the public. He said this was tantamount to the introduction of a new development plan for the suburbs through the backdoor.
Sources in the BMC said the only way out of the imbroglio was by regularizing illegal construction in the 234 cases by using Transfer of Development Rights (TDR). “In any case, the cap of 2 FSI continues in the suburbs. Within this stipulation, it should be possible to regularize the illegal construction by consuming TDR, whose rates have dropped considerably. This should be affordable to the developers who want to escape the demolition of illegal additional work carried out by them,’’ a BMC engineer said.