BMC for merging leased plots

MUMBAI :In an effort that is likely to make redevelopment easier, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has proposed amalgamation of two or more of its 4,176 leased plots in the city.

In its new policy, the estates department has allowed amalgamation of its leased plots with private layouts for better Floor Space Index (FSI) utilisation under the Development Control Regulations’s (DCR) section 33 (7) and 33 (9) for cluster redevelopment.

FSI is the ratio of the building’s floor size to its plot size. The proposal will be tabled before the BMC’S improvements committee for approval on Tuesday.

Of the 4,176 plots, more than 3,000 are residential or residential-commercial plots that were built before 1969 in the island city. The proposal stated that many of these buildings are around 50-year-old and are in urgent need of repairs.

While most of these are up for redevelopment, the process has been stalled as they cannot meet the required open space, fire safety norms owing to the small size of the plots, the proposal stated.

Vishwas Shankarwar, assistant commissioner of the estates department said, “Redevelopment of leased plots was restricted to the same owner, same user-type. With the new policy, however, we have liberalised the process. This will benefit many citizens.” He also said that while the ownership of the amalgamated plot will remain with the BMC. Later, it will be transferred to the society after 30 years, when the lease expires.

In 2015, BMC made the process of granting a no-objection certificate for redevelopment faster for its leasehold plots. It made the process simpler and set a timeframe for granting approvals.

Real estate experts welcomed the move stating that it would benefit a lot of buildings that are stuck in the process of redevelopment in the island city. Real estate expert Ramesh Prabhu said, “There are so many small plots that could not be redeveloped because amalgamation was not allowed. This move will benefit many citizens.”