Cluster redvpt may cause urban chaos …………..Nauzer Bharucha I TNN
Mumbai: The cluster redevelopment proposal for old and dilapidated buildings in the island city may open a Pandoras box in the months to come, as town planners and civic activists have warned of an urban nightmare if the state government has its way.
The notification issued by the urban development department last month stated that builders need not provide flushing system in toilets and allowed them to instal septic tanks for collection of human waste. The project envisages rehousing 30 lakh people living in over 20,000 decrepit buildings in the island city.
The distance between two high-rises is proposed to be just 3.5 m. Experts have also warned about the danger to protected heritage enclaves like Marine Drive and Babulnath as buildings there can be taken up for redevelopment.
TOI has learnt that prominent citizens groups, comprising lawyers, architects, civic activists, heritage conservation experts and former bureaucrats, are chalking out a strategy to raise objections to what some have described as obnoxious proposals put up by the state. We want to be prepared this time and do not want a repeat of the mill land case, said an activist, not wishing to be identified.
Under the cluster plan, a builder has to take up a minimum of 4,000-sq-m area (1 acre) going up to 20,000 sq m (5 acres) for redevelopment. This has triggered a fight between two groups of developers vying for the huge financial bonanza the project offers in terms of an incentive FSI of 4.
Last November, when the state invited expressions of interest from builders, it was mentioned that the minimum area to be developed in a cluster would be 25 acres. But when the notification was issued, the minimum area was reduced to just 1 acre at the behest of some developers who had already acquired small pockets of about 1-2 acres, said an aide of a developer who had plans to redevelop buildings situated on 200 acres.
On Wednesday, South Mumbai Congress MP Milind Deora and housing activist Chandrashekhar Prabhu dashed off a joint letter to Vilasrao Deshmukh, protesting against several of the provisions in the proposed scheme. Within the urban renewal scheme, the buildings acquired by Mhada should be developed by Mhada, using, if required, private contractors, but the benefit would go entirely to the government or Mhada and not to a private developer, they said.
The duo has also objected to relaxations made under the proposed amendments, especially one that says a separate kitchen will not be necessary.
We feel the kitchen is an essential part and this will cause tremendous discontentment, and allow people to use this against the redevelopment as a whole. It is also mentioned that the cooking space shall be allowed without any minimum space restrictions. While the kitchen has to be 80 sq ft minimum under the existing rules, we do not understand how the developer can fit in a kitchen in 50 sq ft.
Under the existing rules, every bathroom and water closet is required to have access to natural ventilation. This stipulation has to be continued, said the letter.
Prabhu told TOI that the existing infrastructure was inadequate and with millions of more people sharing the same facilities, life would become hell. There is no mention of how roads, drainage lines, water supply mains, electric substations, schools, gardens, playgrounds will be increased to take care of the rise in population due to the implementation of these amendments.
Remaking of Mumbai Federation, which submitted a plan to redevelop 212 acres in C-ward, last month appointed Arup, one of the worlds largest urban planners, to prepare an environment-friendly master plan for the area. Federation chairman Lalit Gandhi, said Arups expertise would help achieve integrated sustainable development planning. The federation would redevelop over 2,000 buildings.
Conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah cautioned that the proposed amendment could virtually wipe out Mumbais iconic buildings by allowing demolition and redevelopment in heritage precincts listed under Grade III. It will destroy areas such as Marine Drive, Fort, Mahalaxmi, Khotachiwadi and Banganga.