More haphazard devpt likely in city

BMC has increased FSI available for large categories of construction

Pencil-thin skyscrapers, towers lording over congested lanes and haphazard development may continue to characterise Mumbai.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), on paper, claims to have reduced floor space index (FSI) — which determines how high buildings can grow — from the high 8 proposed in the scrapped draft development plan (DP) last year.

But a closer look shows the civic body has actually allowed several ways for builders to get more FSI, and more FSI means more buildable area. The BMC may have also increased the FSI available for many categories of construction.

While the civic body has retained the base FSI of 1.33 in the island city and 1 in the suburbs, it has increased the minimum available FSI to 2 through certain provisions.

It has also doled out higher FSI, up to 5, for several categories such as commercial structures, hotels, municipal markets and IT parks. Until now, these structures were given an FSI of 2 or 3.

This isn’t all. The BMC has junked a proposal of the previous draft DP to put a cap on the maximum FSI a builder can avail, and has instead brought back contentious provisions that will let builders get concessions and more FSI — anywhere between 25% and 60% higher. These concessions include availing 35% additional fungible FSI by paying premiums, getting 40% more FSI by building multi-storey parking lots and freeof-FSI areas such as staircases.

This means a building that is officially given an FSI 5 can avail of astronomically high FSI — close to double its provision or more. CONTINUED ON P8