Govt increases FSI to 3 from 2.5, hopes to give a boost to the realty sector.
The Maharashtra government’s decision to allow 3 floor space index (FSI) for redevelopment of 19,000 old and dilapidated buildings in Mumbai is expected to give the much-needed thrust to the city’s realty sector. FSI is the ratio of the total floor area of buildings on a certain location to the size of the land of that location.
However, realty players argue such redevelopment schemes need to be completed in a time-bound manner.
These 19,000 tenanted buildings in the island city are divided into three categories, namely “A” — constructed prior to 1939, “B” — between 1939 to 1960, and “C” — built after 1963. These buildings have an average 500,000 unit of families with a total population of 2,000,000-2,500,000.
Minister of State for Housing Sachi Ahir told Business Standard, “The government has taken a crucial decision considering dangerous conditions of these old buildings. The FSI will be increased to 3 from the existing 2.5 for redevelopment. The increase in FSI (which is a ratio of the built-up area and the plot area) will benefit the tenants as they will get 300 sq ft house after redevelopment instead of 225 sq ft now.”
Ahir said the government was quite serious about the redevelopment of these buildings without any delays and added the status of these buildings would be reviewed quarterly. He opined the redevelopment would give a boost to the realty sector.
Sunil Mantri, president of the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry, welcomed the state government's decision. “The government decision will facilitate redevelopment of these buildings faster. Since tenants will have to be given 300 sq ft area, increase in FSI is quite vital. With the revision in the coastal zone regulations (CRZ), the redevelopment process will be faster.”
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However, Anand Gupta, honorary treasurer of the Builders Association of India, suggested the state government should issue a clear-cut deadline like five years for time-bound programme for redevelopment of the dilapidated buildings.
“In the absence of any time-bound pressure on tenants or slum dwellers, people are taking indefinite time to join the scheme, as it is a joint programme. Every tenant should have a psycho fear that if he fails to take advantage of this time-bound FSI incentive programme of the government, then after a particular time limit, he will not be in a position to take advantage of this scheme and he will be subject to be forcibly removed from particular locations and similarly, he will be forcibly removed from the dilapidated building for which other tenant cannot wait indefinitely.”
Further, Gupta said the state government should place proper pre-qualification criteria for selecting developers for the rehabilitation scheme and dilapidated buildings. They should be experienced in the field and also should have proper financial backing to fulfill their commitments.
“At present, there is no such pre-qualification criteria. There is no check and balance on appointment and their non-performance is causing great amount of failure and creating a continuous no-confidence in tenants and slum dwellers. If there is a pre-qualification created in appointing developers, percentage of failure will get reduced drastically. BMC should keep approval of the project simplified. We hope if our suggestions are accepted, we can see Mumbai dilapidated-building free in a short span of time. We can also hope to have a sufficient number of housing stocks through sale component,” he added.