MUMBAI: The state government has finally rolled out its new transfer of development rights (TDR) policy for Mumbai, where additional construction rights will be given to builders depending on the width of a road along a project site. State urban development secretary Nitin Kareer said the policy has been officially notified. The biggest beneficiaries will be developers with projects along roads that are 30 metres wide, like LBS Marg, SV Road, Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link Road, Santacruz-Chembur Link Road and E Moses Road. For example, a builder redeveloping a 1,000 square metre plot can currently avail of 2,000 sq m to build with an FSI of 2. Under the new rule, he will get 2,500 sq m to build with an FSI of 2.5. The FSI outlines how much can be built on a plot. TOI had first reported about the state’s plan in January 2015 and it is only now that the urban development department has notified it. The new policy says no extra construction benefits in the form of TDR will be offered for projects on roads less than 9m wide. In a major sop to developers, though, the government has said the BMC will “convert all roads of a width less than 9m to 9m and above as per site conditions…” For the first time ever, the new policy also allows TDR to be utilized in the island city. So far, TDR was banned in the island city because of the fear that more construction would further burden the already crumbling civic infrastructure. If the government acquires a private land free of cost and without any encumbrances, the owner of such a plot in the island city will be entitled to a TDR 2.5 times the area surrendered and a maximum of two times the area surrendered in the suburbs. TDR is a vital tool for builders because it allows them construction rights over and above the normal FSI that is currently permitted when they construct or redevelop buildings in suburban Mumbai. TDR is generated when the developer/owner surrenders land to the government and agrees to rehouse slumdwellers or project-affected persons free of cost. In turn, a TDR certificate is issued that gives him additional construction rights in the suburbs, but only to the north of the plot he has surrendered. Architect Manoj Daisaria said the new TDR policy will incentivize land-owners of reserved lands by granting them FSI of 2 to 2.5 and also offer bonanza for lands surrendered for public purposes within a stipulated time limit. “As a result, more reservations will be available for public use,” he added. Developer Sanjay Devnani said the policy will help only the big developers building townships. “They will get the maximum benefit,” he said while warning that residential redevelopment projects not on main roads in the suburbs will suffer. According to Devnani, permissible TDR under the new policy has been reduced on internal roads that are less than 18m wide. “This could lead to disputes between housing societies which have already signed redevelopment agreements with builders,” he said. But other property experts said the new rules will not change TDR utilisation on such narrow roads. Source: ET Reality
Wider the Road, Taller Can be Its Buildings in Mumbai Now
