The new FSI rules claim to compensate developers for the corresponding increase in the minimum area of a new tenement to 300 sq ft, but in reality will enable developers of old buildings to utilise an FSI of 10 during redevelopment.
Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan announcing the increase of floor-space index (FSI) for the city’s 18,000-odd cessed buildings from 2.5 to 3 is just the tip of the iceberg, given the provisions under the state government’s 33/7 rule that allows developers to enjoy virtually unlimited FSI.
While the increase aims to compensate developers for the corresponding increase in the minimum area of a new tenement to 300 sq ft, developers of old buildings could well end up utilising an FSI of 10 during redevelopment.
The 33/7 rule stipulates that a developer can avail up to 50% more FSI after rehabilitating all the existing tenants of a cessed building. This, according to Chandrashekhar Prabhu, an expert on urban development, makes a mockery of the 3 FSI announcement and paves way for developers to enjoy unrestricted FSI.
According to Prabhu, instead of distracting people with insignificant announcements, the state should create the necessary infrastructure before allowing the developers to exploit unlimited FSI and raise buildings that the congested
areas of the city are just not equipped to handle.
“Rather than allowing new constructions and then going about like six blind men searching for infrastructure solutions, the government should scientifically conduct carrying capacity studies, augment the infrastructure and then allow planned real-estate development,” he says.
Dismissing the state and civic body’s claims that they do not have the monetary resources to create infrastructure first, Prabhu says that even after collecting the funds from developers on account of development charges, only a portion goes for infrastructure augmentation.
“FSI should not be taken in isolation, but should be co-related to the density factor, which in turn should be linked to infrastructure,” says architect and activist Neera Adharkar.
She feels that instead of leaving the projects to private developers and market forces, the government should play an inclusive role and ensure that it not only develops the infrastructure, but also creates an overall development plan for all segments of the society so that the marginalised sections are not pushed out of the city.
Improper roads and inadequate water supply are pressing issues in south Mumbai, where a majority of cessed buildings are located.
“Nowhere in the world do you raise buildings and then create the infrastructure; it happens only in Mumbai,” says Debi Goenka, executive trustee, Conservation Action Trust.
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