Mumbai : A day after the city got its new draft development plan, activists are seething all over the city over plans of a builder-oriented vertical development and a convenient neglect of the city’s open spaces and green cover. Though developers have welcomed this plan, the town planners are of the opinion that the urban poor have not been considered in this plan.
The biggest take-away from the newly-unveiled plan was the increased floor space index (FSI) which would allow eight times more vertical construction with the objective to allow more open spaces in the city. But what the BMC seems to have missed out on is the fact that an increased FSI means a heightened density of population and a subsequent pressure on existing infrastructure.
“I wonder if the existing land use corresponds to this promise of vertical development,” said noted architect Neera Adarkar. “This kind of development means an increase in the density of population and a subsequent pressure on infrastructure. Besides, they are trying to bring down the per capita index (open space available per person) from 5 metres to 2 metres whereas it is already less than 1.8. How are they going to increase it,” Adarkar asked.
Action for Good Governance and Networking in India (AGNI) co-coordinator Rajkumar Sharma questioned whether the BMC had ever even actually surveyed the number of households in the city and the expected number based on the existing demand. “This DP is simply a document for pandering to the builders. I fear that the entire city will collapse.” Sharma, who had been actively involved in the ward-level DP consultations with the BMC, is disillusioned and thinks they were an eyewash.
Even Aftab Siddiqui, another activist from Bandra, condemned the plan saying that we should not blindly ape the West.
While Nayana Kathpalia, trustee for an NGO NAGAR said that the number of days (60) given for submitting suggestions and objections are too few.
Meanwhile town planner Pankaj Joshi, director of Urban Design Research Institute (UDRI) said that the plan will help only the developers and not the poor. “The slum population has been kept away from the plan. More than 40 to 42 percent population is living in slums, which has not been included in the plan,” he alleged.
“FSI is not a solution for the entire urban problem. There is no provision for hawkers, rag-pickers… these informal sections are neglected. The plan is offering highest FSI for Lower Parel, Dadar, Girgaon that are already highly dense, then it is not possible to provide them amenities,” he said.
“Standard of health and education standards has been lowered, there is no proper provision of it, as urban poor not considered in the draft,” he said.
However, builder and president of National Real Estate Development Council (NARDECO) Sunil Mantri refuted all the allegations made by the activists and town planners. “More FSI will give boost for affordable housing and the authority will get more revenue for development of infrastructure,” Mantri said.
“The BMC will get premium from the FSI which can help in development of amenities. The high FSI offered in station area is for commercial development and also may increase public parking,” Mantri said.
“More FSI will increase the affordable housing in the city, as the supply will increase, the housing prices will come down,” Mantri interpreted.
Pandurang Mhaske , Tanvi Deshpande
