Housing norms to be builder-friendly

In a move to end the deadlock of opting for a premium or housing stock, the state government is set to tweak the revenue sharing formula to make the redevelopment of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) colonies in Mumbai builder-friendly.

“The state government has already prepared a new draft pro rata Floor Space Index (FSI) policy. According to the draft, developers will be able to opt for both premium as well as housing stock. Mhada plans to charge premium from developer for smaller projects and it will ask developers to give housing stock to Mhada in projects where a particular unit is measuring more than 2,000 square feet,” said a Mhada official on condition of anonymity.

Earlier in 2008, Mhada used to charge a premium from the developer in exchange for granting a no-objection certificate (NOC) and developers would get additional FSI for redevelopment of dilapidated colonies. Under the premium policy, developers will get additional FSI against the payment of premium, which is 40 per cent.

On the basis of Development Control Regulations (DCR) 33 (5), after granting FSI of 2.5, additional FSI was generated from open spaces and granted to developers. On the basis of FSI, a developer identifies the permissible area on which construction can be taken place in a particular plot.

Later in 2010, the government made it compulsory for developers to provide housing stock to Mhada. However, in 2013, it was again altered to charge premium. The BJP-Shiv Sena government in 2014 scrapped the policy and the Mhada has not given a single permission for redevelopment of dilapidated colonies since January 1, 2015.

“We will adopt an approach which will serve the purpose of both the tenants and the developers. I will not reveal any detail on the draft of the new policy but we will in a week’s time advertise the policy and intend to ask for suggestions and objections from the public,” said state housing minister Prakash Mehta.

The city has nearly 104 housing colonies developed by the Mhada that were built between the late 1970s and 1980s. Most of the buildings in these colonies have been declared as dilapidated and are not safe to reside in. The state expects to generate housing stock of 2 lakh units by redeveloping these colonies.

However, experts claim that the developers should not be charged premium. “How is charging premium useful for the population of this city which is in desperate need of affordable housing ” asked a housing expert Vinod Sampat.