Within week of SC ruling, 2 high-rise projects along west Mumbai waterfront get nod

On Tuesday, MCZMA sanctioned two such proposals, the first of several to come up along the city’s western coastline. Of the two, one was of Hoary Realty Ltd (Hub Town Limited) and the other of Kalpavruksh Developers — both in Prabhadevi.
“We have sanctioned two proposals in keeping with the recent Supreme Court order,” said Medha Gadgil, Maharashtra’s Additional Chief Secretary (Environment). She added that the two developers will be allowed to construct their projects using the full floor space index (FSI) that are available for various schemes.

A week ago, the Supreme Court had dismissed Maharashtra government’s plea against redefining parts of the western waterfront between Bandra and Colaba as a “bay”. As a result of the ruling, Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms cease to apply beyond a 100-metre zone from the sea’s high tide line, potentially opening up prospects for builders to construct high-rises along a few seafront areas in south Mumbai.

Earlier, projects within the 500 metre buffer zone could be redeveloped within a FSI cap of 1.33 in the island city and one in the suburbs. Now, this restriction will be applicable to only the 100 metre zone. Plots along the remaining areas can utilise a high FSI of 3 and above.

Another project by Hub Town, formerly known as Ackruti Group, in south Mumbai’s Gamdevi is now awaiting the coastal body’s clearance. The DB Realty Group, one of whose promoters is now facing trial in the 2G scam case, also stands to gain the most as two of their CRZ plots have been freed for development. One such project would be on the developer’s two-acre Charni road plot running parallel to Marine Drive. Since earlier CRZ rules allowed high FSI only for hotels and not for residential structures, the developer had proposed a five star — Park Hyatt Tower, which at 125 floors would have been the country’s tallest luxury hotel. However, the plot can now be used to construct much more profitable super-luxury residences.

Another 30,000 sq m prime Bandra reclamation plot next to Lilavati hospital, where DB realty has planned a redevelopment project along with Om Metal Consortium, has also been taken out of the purview of the CRZ restriction. The developer can now use a high FSI of over 3 for redeveloping the 1,100 odd slums and transit tenements on the plot and for constructing sea view apartments on the remaining land.

The Kanakia Group, which previously owned the Cinemax multiplex chain, is another beneficiary. The company will now be able to construct its residential project on a BEST bus plot at Mahim by utilising a high FSI in exchange for creating a modern bus depot and staff quarters on part of the land.

Plots lining the waterfront areas of Mahim are set to see a flurry of projects including those by Acknur Constructions, Richa Realtors, Shagun Group, Chaitanya Developers, West Avenue Realtors, Suravi Infrastructure and India Land Hotels Pvt Ltd. Further south, some of the proposed projects that will now be eligible for MCZMA’s nod include those by Rajlaxmi developers in Dadar, HBS Sea-view Private Ltd at Chira Bazaar and Sarth Towers Pvt Ltd in Malabar Hill.

A senior state government official said that the government will send the list of the remaining 14 projects to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) to seek its suggestions on how to move forward. “We had tried to argue it out in court that these areas form part of the sea and hence should be protected under Coastal Regulations Zone (CRZ) norms. However, the ruling went against us. Now, we will look to the Central government for guidance,” said the official.

Hub Town Limited was the petitioner in the case which resulted in the Bombay High Court ruling that under the new CRZ rules for areas defined as ‘bay’ such as Mahim Bay, the buffer zone where development is restricted stands reduced from the previous 500 m from high tide line to only 100 m.  The Supreme Court upheld the High Court verdict.