Realty industry fears delay in projects as Maha scraps DP

Realty industry has raised concerns over shelving of the proposed Mumbai Development Plan 2034, saying this may further delay new launches which will ultimately result into a shortage of housing stock.

"Due to uncertainty, developers will be unable to launch new projects. I hope that the new plan is implemented at the earliest to avoid further adverse impact on Mumbai's real estate and its infrastructure," CBRE South Asia Chairman and Managing Director Anshuman Magazine said.

"Sellers don't sell land as they don't know the real value of their asset and the buyers too shy away from acquisition for the same reason. This whole confusion results in no new launch for almost about a year or two," said Knight Frank Executive Director, advisory, retail and hospitality, Gulam Zia.

Zia said the Development Plan didn't have major planning flaws as such, but it lacked on detailing and on-ground checks of satellite imagery.

The BJP-led Maharashtra government on Tuesday scrapped the contentious Mumbai Development Plan (DP) 2015-2034 following stiff resistance from political parties, NGOs, heritage conservators and eminent personalities.

According to industry experts, the DP, which is now scrapped, lacked a balanced link with the existing infrastructure conditions of the city.

They felt the issue with the Plan was higher FSI resulting in high congestion, collection of FSI premium, and omissions or misrepresentations in the Plan.

"State government has appreciated the concerns of public, other stake-holders and acknowledged the mistakes in the proposed Plan (which was scrapped on Tuesday). Although, the previous Plan suggested a good idea of variable FSI, it lacked a balanced link with the current infrastructure conditions of city," Olympeo Infrastructure chairman and managing director Prabhat Ranjan said.

Knight Frank has also suggested that instead of collecting premium for additional FSI, the developers could be made to hand over houses or to create civic amenities.