No space to redevelop old bldgs

Civic chief's redevelopment proposal will force builders to ignore old South Mumbai buildings, MLAsu00a0tell CM

A group of Congress MLAs from the ruling coalition met the Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Friday to register their protest against the Civic Chief Subodh Kumar's proposed amendments of the Development Control Rules (DCR) in July. These proposals are up for debate for a month and will be passed by the Ministry of Urban Development.

Kumar's amendments propose that a six-metre space be maintained between redeveloped structures along the perimeter of each building. The politicians, including MLAs Varsha Gaikwad, Naseem Khan, Baba Siddique, Rajhans Singh, Amin Patel, and MP Sanjay Nirupam said that existing buildings, especially in the island city, would not allow for this, since these old structures have been constructed on less space. They said that such a rule would prevent builders from redeveloping old buildings in South Mumbai.

Amin Patel, an MLA from Mumbadevi (C Ward) that has a number of dilapidated buildings prime for redevelopment said, "If the proposal to leave a space of six metres is accepted, it would mean that several buildings would not be redeveloped. There are more than 15,000 old buildings in Mumbadevi, of which 53 per cent are built on area of less than 300 square metres, many of which are sticking to each other. This will force builders to stay away." Patel suggested that the open space requirement for smaller buildings be reduced to 1.2 metres.

A builder, who has undertaken few redevelopment projects in Girgaum and didn't wished to be named told Sunday MiD DAY, "The old buildings in South Mumbai are built on very narrow lanes, and there is hardly any space between them. If we are asked to leave six metres, we will be left with no other option than to give up on these buildings."

Kumar also proposed that builders be charged 100 per cent premium on free FSI, which the ministers fear, would force them to hike the price of properties or reduce the size of the new flats. "The government should reduce the FSI premium to 50 per cent for private buildings, and redeveloped properties shouldn't be charged FSI. Otherwise, builders will increase the burden on poor and middle class residents," said Patel. The Shiv Sena, however, has expressed its support for the DCR amendments.