Party hard in Dubai, say his tenure as civic chief was toughest for them.
It’s party time for city developers. Builders, who were bogged down by former civic chief Subodh Kumar’s actions, packed off to Dubai last week to celebrate his departure from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation.
The developers said the tenure of Subodh Kumar was the toughest period for them.
According to a south Mumbai-based developer, the builders faced huge financial losses during Kumar’s tenure. “During his 16-month tenure, hardly 20 proposals were approved by the civic body. And, the introduction of amended development control (DC) rules changed the entire scenario in the construction industry.
Now, there is no concession and additional floor space index (FSI) to earn profit by constructing flower beds and huge balconies,” he said, requesting anonymity.
“Kumar’s retirement will give us some relief. To share the happiness, we assembled in Dubai and celebrated the moment,” a developer said.
“If a person refused to work as per our terms, then he was immediately transferred. This time, our tricks did not work. Kumar’s tenure was really a nightmare for us. His departure is huge relief for us,” he added.
Another developer said it is true that many developers were in Dubai last week, but most of them have projects there.
“We know each other and belonged to the same profession. So, we congregated there and had a get-together. There is no doubt that, we are happy with the departure of the Subodh Kumar. We were unhappy with the introduction of stringent rules and his arrogant nature. He did not listen to others view point. The new civic chief, Sitaram Kunte, may be strict, but he will at least listen to us,” he said.
Paras Gundecha, president of Maharashtra Chambers of Housing Industry (MCHI), was unavailable for comment.
Sunil Mantri, managing director of Mantri Group and chairman of Indian Merchant of Chambers (real estate) was unaware of the developers’ celebration.
“There may be different views over the various decisions of the Subodh Kumar. It is true that Kumar did not consider our suggestions while amending DC rules and other laws. But it will not be appropriate to celebrate his departure from the BMC,” he said.
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