Mumbai: Will Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde give in to the demands of the developers for concessions? Well, he hasn't yet firmed up the decision.
On Thursday, the developers body - Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI) - and the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI) made a representation seeking a discount in the payment of premium of Floor Space Index (FSI), as well as reduction of stamp duty.
To Shinde, Boman Irani, President CREDAI-MCHI urged, "We would request that the Maharashtra government should reduce the stamp duty by 3% from the existing rate of 6%. If the state government reduces it, we assure you that we developers will bear the balance 3% for the buyers."
The builder community also sought rationalisation of premiums. According to them, Mumbai has the highest premiums as compared to other cities like Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, and Delhi. Last year, when the state government had reduced premiums, it helped to revive 200 stuck projects.
A comparative data by CREDAI-MCHI shows that for a project spread on a plot of 10,000 sqmts, total FSI from the state and tangible put together comes to 1.92 or 19,238 sqmts.
For this, in Mumbai, they end up paying Rs 48.19 crore to the government as against Rs 8.75 crore in Pune. However, the logic to have higher premium payable to the government is to discourage taller buildings in the island city and decongest the traditional hubs and allow development to happen across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region.
Moreover, land prices in Mumbai are steep as compared to other metropolitan cities across India, making the overall payable to the government far more than other cities.
On the demands, Shinde assured that he will actively consider it.
"We will take positive steps and thinking about slashing stamp duty and also rationalising premium," the CM said.
On Thursday, he even shared in public that he will discuss the topic with his cabinet colleagues to consider and work on their demands.
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