Pooling of land will make its use easier: Sitaram Kunte

To do away with complications involved in acquiring land, both under the previous Land Acquisition Act, 1894, and the current LARR Act, 2013, the BMC has focussed on the concept of land pooling in the draft development plan 2034.

What is land pooling?
It refers to the BMC acquiring at least 10% of every 2,000sqm plot, which will go for development as amenity space. How this land will be used will depend on the area's needs, municipal commissioner Sitaram Kunte said during the DP-decoding meet at the Press Club, organised by Mumbai First, on Thursday.

The BMC's stand is that land pooling will make amenity land usage easier.

What about acquisition then?
"The acquisition process will continue with for bigger plots reserved for a specific purpose," Vidyadhar Phatak, urban planning consultant, clarified.

On FSI
Kunte clarified doubts on the phenomenal FSI increase as per the DP. "Only 2% of the city has been given an FSI of 8," he said. "The increase in FSI will solve the problem of scarcity of development rights, which we see as a way to affordable housing."