The Maharashtra government has made one more attempt to change Mumbai’s skyline by announcing some changes to the cluster redevelopment policy. Maharashtra chief minister, Prithviraj Chavan is keen on leaving his stamp on Mumbai’s skyline, which explains the modified set of development control rules or DCR announced by the State Urban Development Authority for the greater Mumbai region.
The new rules now allow developers to pursue reconstruction/redevelopment of any building that has been around for more than 30 years. Also, consent from only 70 percent of the landlords is now needed to begin a project, instead of the earlier 100 percent but parties that do not consent will have to be given adequate compensation.
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However, if MHADA /MCGM undertakes redevelopement directly on its own land, then this 70 percent consent rule is not applicable.
Confusion over size of area has also been done away with. The rules say that cluster development will be permitted over a minimum area of 4,000 square metres in south Mumbai, and 10,000 square metres in Mumbai’s suburbs under the urban renewal scheme. But some analyst are still skeptical over whether these new rules will attract developers.
Anuj Puri, chairman & country head, JLL said: “My concern is will the 10000 sq. mts norm find any takers. South Mumbai’s 4000 sq. mts rule only had less than 10 interested developers.”
However, there is good news for developers - The DCR now standardises FSI to 4.00, or that required for the rehabilitation of existing tenants and occupants plus incentives, whichever is higher. This is a big relief in areas like North Mumbai, where the permitted FSI was just 2.7, so this means mean better profitability.
Rohit Poddar,md, Poddar Developers said: “Profitability depends on the scale and type of project but expect profitability to now increase between 20-20% on an average for developers.”
Occupants of buildings scheduled for redevelopement also have something to cheer about. The rules say that such persons will not only be rehabilitated, but also be given ownership of carpet area equivalent to the area occupied in the old building. This is better than the earlier rule that set a maximum cap of 753 square feet.
Experts say full implementation will take at least 6 months and the real positives will come in the form of an uptick in demand and lower prices for customers.
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