Entire city to have uniform FSI of 2

Doing away with the controversial area-based variable floor space index (FSI) concept in the earlier draft, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has proposed a uniform FSI of 2 in its revised draft Development Plan 2034 for the city. The civic body has also proposed a high FSI of 5 for commercial purposes.

In the revised draft DP, the basic zonal FSI of city and suburbs is maintained along with the fungible FSI.

Earlier the total zonal FSI in the island city and suburbs was 1.33 and 1 respectively. In the revised draft, the island and suburbs have been allotted TDR/premium FSI of 0.67 and 1 respectively, making it a total 2 permissible FSI.

The FSI is the ratio of a building’s total floor area to the size of the piece of land upon which it is built. Currently, the base FSI, or the permissible construction on a plot of land is 1.33 for the island city between Cuffe Parade and Mahim. For the suburbs — starting from Bandra and stretching till Virar on the western side, Sion and upwards towards Thane — the base FSI is 1.

In the earlier draft DP released last year, the BMC had proposed the concept of variable FSI in the city. With the bulk FSI of 6.5 and 8 in the vicinity of major railway stations near central business districts, an FSI of 5 was proposed in areas well-accessed by public transport.

The revised DP has also brought uniformity in the additional FSI offered to various categories. All star hotels in the city will get a high FSI of 5. In case of government and municipal offices and staff quarters, the FSI will be 5 and 4, respectively. The Mhada, transit camps and town planning scheme structures will have an FSI of 4.

For sectors such as IT and bio-technology, FSI of 5 is proposed, whereas in road bottleneck projects, FSI of 4 has been given. For affordable housing and municipal markets, FSI of 4 and 5 has been given, respectively.

With an aim to provide affordable housing, the BMC has decided to remove all reservations on no-development zones (NDZ), except the Metro carshed and botanical park and zoo at Aarey Colony. “To provide 10 lakh homes by the year 2034, there is a need of 3,100 hectares of land, of which about 2,100 hectares will be made available by withdrawing reservations on NDZ areas,” said civic chief Ajoy Mehta.