Mumbai Development Plan-2034 likely to be approved by April-end

Mumbai: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has announced that Development Plan (DP)-2034 for Mumbai will be approve before April-end. The Urban Development department, which comes under Fadnavis directly, is set to finalise the plan.

The Development Control Rules -2034 was submitted to the state government in August last year. “The state has the right to finalise the DP in next two years from the date of submission and the period for additional six months can be extended,” said an official from the state town planning department.

He added, however, that the state has finalised the DP-2034 within eight months from the date of submission. “Once, the chief minister will give time to discuss it, it will be finalised with his signature,” said the official. The preparation of the draft DP began in February 2014, but following widespread criticism due to numerous errors, the government directed it to be revised. The BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) general body approved it on July 31 midnight last year.

The Fadnavis government has already made changes to the draft DP-2034 prior to its final publication. While the BMC general body rejected the proposal to set up the car shed for Metro-III in Aarey colony, the state government notified it through a modification to the draft DP.

What has surprised observers is that the state urban development department should issue notifications increasing floor space index (FSI) in the island city and suburbs just prior to the publishing of the new DP. The first draft notification was issued in January increasing the FSI in the island city by 0.5 taking the base FSI from 1.33 to 1.83.

In a second draft notification issued in March, the UDD has for the first time allowed Permanent Transit Camps (PTCs) to be constructed in the island city. For this it has now allowed a FSI of 3 in the island city.

PTC’s were allowed in the suburbs in the 1991 DP but the FSI was capped at 2.5. Now this has been increased to 4. Further, in a bonanza to developers, the base FSI and sale FSI that can be used in the island city provided a joint application is made for the same that is constructing PTCs in the suburbs and the sale component in the city.