Redevpt will be unviable with FSI sops gone: Experts

MUMBAI: Construction industry sources told TOI that withdrawals of FSI incentives in the new DP notification will hamper development in the city. Generally, about 50% of a plot is reserved for Accommodation Reservation (AR) meant for any public amenity like a hospital or a market. For surrendering this portion of the plot, the developer was earlier entitled to receive additional FSI for the total area.The changed AR policy, architects said, will not find any takers.
Industry experts warned redevelopment of housing societies will become unviable. Architect Manoj Daisaria said withdrawal of the AR and Road FSI benefits will severely hamper redevelopment.
Under the new notification, the incentive FSI has been curtailed to the net plot (after surrendering the land required to BMC). For example, on a 10,000 sq m plot, the developer surrenders 5,000 sq m to the BMC for public amenities. With the incentives offered earlier, the builder would have been able to construct over 40,400 sq m on the 5,000 sq m under him. Saturday’s notification will reduce the construction allowed to just 16,685 sq m on the 5,000 sq m portion held by the builder. “The state government’s own AR policy in 2016 had allowed incentive FSI on the gross plot. It is shocking that the urban development department has reduced this on the net plot,” said a senior architect.
Another withdrawal is of construction benefits offered to land-owners/builders whose plots are reserved for widening a public road. The government’s Road TDR policy of November 16, 2016 had offered additional construction rights in the form of FSI to builders when a portion of the plot is surrendered for road-widening. The new notification has withdrawn this.
For instance, an industry expert said, on a 10,000 sq m plot, the builder would have been able to receive extra FSI to build on the 9,000 sq m (after surrendering 1,000 sq m for road-widening). This extra FSI would have permitted him to build around 35,700 sq m on the 9,000 sq m portion. However, now the developer may get to build just 30,000 sq m.
Architects, engineers and town planners are aghast that even after four rounds of corrections over the last three years, the government is unable to correctly publish the Development Control and Promotion Regulations (DCPR).
Members of the Practising Engineers, Architects and Town Planners Association (PEATA) said the government in May 2016 had promised land owners who offered their plots for public amenities extra FSI over and above the permissible limit.
“All this has been rolled back without assigning any reasons and without inviting objections and suggestions,” said Yomesh Rao, an architect. Rao said nearly 70% of plots in Mumbai have reservation for road-widening. “Societies who have to give up land for road setback waiting to carry out redevelopment will be badly hit. The FSI they will now get for the setback area will not ensure them those slightly larger flats on account of the FSI cap,” he added.
Architect Vilas Nagalkar said in the last five decades neither the state nor BMC have come forward to acquire plots on which reservations have been clamped. “In the absence of incentives no landowner will offer his land for reservation nor offer to develop it. The result is Mumbai suffers,” he said. Sources in the BMC said civic officials have already started work on correcting certain clerical errors.