Meet on Mumbai DP-2034: ‘Insufficient time to file public suggestions’, say experts

Some citizens, who attended the meeting, organised to help them understand the notification, said that government must drop Section 33 (19) of DP-2034, which specifies the additional floor space index (FSI) that can be provided to big projects in a Central Business District (CBD).

FSI is the ratio of the total permissible constructible area to the area of the plot. “The Rule 5 of the Section 33 (19) states provision of additional FSI for residential areas. This particular rule states that if the municipal commissioner deems necessary, any plots, irrespective of their private or residential status, can be provided an additional FSI on the basis of the CBD on that plot. This is encouraging more commercial projects to come up,” said Madhuri Vyas, an architect.

Vyas said, the Section, if implemented, will convert the residential areas into commercial and business zones.
“This means the government or the municipal corporation can allot or deny allotment of an additional FSI to whichever projects it wants to. This will also encourage corruption,” added Vyas Executive director, UDRI, Pankaj Joshi, said, “Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has now made the planning authority for areas as slums. In this scenario, what would be the role of the slum rehabilitation authority (SRA)? No explanation has been offered in this regard. Besides the effect of road widening on several plots is unknown, as the roads in question cannot currently be identified on the DP map.”

Joshi also said that the DP-2034 has taken massive liberties by diluting high-rise standards, heritage regulations, plot side margins and open space provisions, ignoring all recommendations of experts, who have worked extensively on Revised Draft Development Plan (RDDP) 2034.

“If commercial buildings are permitted in residential zones, it will lead to more problems in the city like increase in crimes, accidents, water scarcity and limited means of public transport,” said Gayatri Singh a PhD students, who attended the meeting.

She added, “If the new DP is implemented, it will not be surprising to find high-rise buildings suddenly coming up in the already congested and infrastructure-challenged corners of the city.”

Noted architect David Cardoz said, “Why did the state government appoint a planning committee if they wanted to change majority of the things in the committee’s report? Most of things mentioned in the planning committee’s report were either removed or changed from the final DP that was released by the government. Even after releasing the Development Control and Promotional Regulations to the public, there are no DP maps to clearly indicate the modifications in the reservations, hence majority of locations and changes on various plots remain a mystery for the citizens.”

BMC commissioner Ajoy Mehta said, “Those having any doubts or confusion on DP can contact our office and visit our websites. The last date to submit objections and suggestions is not June 7. The 30 days to file suggestions and objections will start from the day the notification is published in the gazette and the DP map is released. The same is in process of being published.”