Redevelopment of over 5,000 societies in Navi Mumbai stuck

Redevelopment of about 5,000 housing societies in Navi Mumbai is stuck due to non-clarity and non-feasibility of redevelopment policy.

Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation has received five thousand building proposals from Navi Mumbai for redevelopment. However, the local corporation has not approved a single proposal so far.

According to the developer, currently, no redevelopment project is financially feasible in Navi Mumbai. As per the present policy, the old and dilapidated buildings in redevelopment get 1.5 to 2.5-floor space index (FSI). FSI is virtual space that has given as per the size of the plot and front and back road width.

"If the road width is more than 90 meter, these housing societies get the 2.5 FSI. However, in Mumbai, developers are getting up to 4 FSI in cluster development. So most of the residents get the bigger space while in Navi Mumbai, the offer of the developers did not look lucrative for societies members. Therefore, they are also postponing their housing societies redevelopment," said Manohar Shroff, vice president of Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI), Navi Mumbai.

He further said that those got the housing societies clearance for redevelopment but they are not seriously pursuing these proposals. "We are expecting some uniform redevelopment policy for Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. One rule is in Mumbai while another in Navi Mumbai that no one accepts. We hope that after the Lok Sabha polls model code of conduct is lifted, the state government will do some serious homework and bring the right framework policy for redevelopment," said Jitendra Patil, a lawyer who deals with the housing societies redevelopment matter.

Another developer said that the current property market is going through a very slow pace. "In Mumbai and its peripheral areas, more than 3.5 lakh houses are unsold. A price correction is happening now. Even we undertake the redevelopment project, how we will recover our expenses. Once the property market improves, we may think to undertake the redevelopment project," the developer added.

LACK OF FSI

• According to the developer, currently, no redevelopment project is financially feasible in Navi Mumbai
• As per the present policy, the old and dilapidated buildings in redevelopment get 1.5 to 2.5-floor space index (FSI)