More floor area for a premium in suburban Mumbai

October 20th, 2011 - 10:13 pm ICT by IANS  

Mumbai, Oct 20 (IANS) In a pre-Diwali gesture, the Maharashtra government said Thursday it would offer for a premium additional floor area for construction in suburban Mumbai.

“The government will give an additional 0.33 percent floor space index (FSI) for a premium,” Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said.

FSI, an abbreviation common in Mumbai construction industry, is the ratio between the plot area and the total built-up area allowed on it.

This will help generate additional revenue, enable realtors to offer better housing stock and lower the prices of housing in the suburbs,” the chief minister added.

Currently, an FSI of 1.33 is available in the island city, comprising south Mumbai, which has now been extended even to the suburbs.

Besides bringing in annual revenue of around five billion rupees to the government, the move is expected to help reduce property prices in Mumbai — among the highest in the world — with more stocks of housing available, he explained.

At present, realtors have been buying transfer of development rights (TDR) from the open market to increase their FSI to the permissible maximum of 2.

Chavan added that the premium amount would be utilised for upgradation of infrastructure in Mumbai, thereby improving the overall quality of life of its citizens.

While half the amount generated out of the premium charged for the additional 0.33 percent FSI will be deposited with the state government, the rest would go to the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM).

In April 2008, the state government had decided to the modify the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act (MRTPA), 1966, and Development Control Regulations (DCR), 1991, for granting 0.33 FSI in the suburbs, subject to payment of premium as per schedule.

This was followed by the an amendment to the MRTP Act in December 2010, which empowered the state government and the planning authority to levy a premium on the grant of additional FSI.

Today, the government cleared the final hurdle in the proposal with the decision to modify Sec. 37(2) of the DCR.

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