Bombay high court allows extra 0.5 FSI for Navi Mumbai

Existing and upcoming constructions — both residential and commercial — in Navi Mumbai will get additional 0.5 floor space index (FSI).

The Bombay high court on Thursday vacated a four-year-old stay and allowed a plea of the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) to grant FSI of 1.5 for constructions.

A division bench of chief justice Mohit Shah and justice SC Dharmadhikari also observed that this benefit will not for buildings constructed on roads and are less than 15m wide. “Navi Mumbai was established to decongest Mumbai, so such a direction is necessary,” observed the court.

Earlier, the high court had stayed the NMMC’s decision to grant additional FSI to commercial and residential constructions as there was no provision in the general development control regulations (GDCR). The stay was granted on December 14,
2005, based on a PIL initiated by NGO Mumbai Citizen’s Group.

The court while lifting the stay took cognisance of a notification issued by NMMC in 2008. The notification brought into force a new DCR which permits NMMC to grant additional 0.5 FSI. “Since statutory provisions have been brought into force prescribing maximum FSI, there is no point in continuing the stay,” observed the court.

Keeping in mind that most restaurants and hotels are constructed in residential premises, the court also directed NMMC to put sufficient restrictions on commercial users in order to prevent misuse. “Residents should not suffer,” the judges observed.