To speed up the notification of a number of proposed incentives and regulations to preserve heritage,the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC) and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC),have now incorporated these in the Development Plan 2014-2034 for Mumbai. These changes to the DP include the integration of the newly proposed list of 948 structures. The changes will also be added to the accompanying revised Development Control Regulations (DCR). This lends greater significance to the DP that would from now on be recognised as the countrys first city plan to not only mandate but also financially support preservation of privately owned heritage structures. After BMC submitted the MHCCs proposed financial incentives to the state government for notification,the decision was taken based on the suggestions of Manukumar Srivastav,the principal secretary of the state Urban Development Department (UDD). After we submitted our standard operating procedures for owners of private heritage,which were first drawn up in 2010,the UDD principal secretary said it would be better to include these and improvements in the heritage regulations in the coming DP and DCR rather than notifying each of them separately,as then it would be automatically processed, said V Ranganathan,chairperson of the MHCC. Accordingly,the committee has submitted its revisions to section 67 of the DCR which deals with heritage regulations that are to be followed with respect to construction,repairs and redevelopment. Our DCR revisions include the revised boundaries and guidelines for heritage and village precincts in addition to the various financial incentives such as provisions for TDR in lieu of redevelopment of the heritage properties, Ranganathan said. Transferred Development Rights (TDR) is applicable for owners of private heritage properties who satisfactorily preserve the structures. This allows redevelopment of the protected structure in a fresh construction elsewhere in Mumbai (excluding island city) based on the FSI appraised for the heritage property in question. Other incentives include deductions in property tax of private heritage structures,concessional interest rates on loans to owners and tax deductions for trusts and charitable institutions involved in heritage conservation. Meanwhile,guidelines for heritage and village precincts to maintain the character of the neighbourhood limit the FSI for reconstructed buildings and restrict renovations and repairs that may mar the existing distinct architectural features in the area. The current heritage regulations required modifications. The rules should not only be prohibitive to owners. Instead,they should enable one to maintain the heritage structures. Owners should be allowed to exploit their full potential FSI while mindful of their conservation, Ranganathan said. alison.saldanha@expressindia.com
