State opens up no-development zones to rehabilitate national park tribals, encroachers

With this move, NDZ land has been opened up for the first time for rehabilitation; officials said that this paved the way for using NDZ land for other rehab projects in the city. So far, NDZ land was allowed to be used only for Information Technology and Information Technology Enabled Services

MUMBAI: Days after announcing a policy to rehabilitate tribals and slum dwellers living in the core and buffer areas of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), the Maharashtra government incorporated a new regulation, 34 (3.5)(ix), in the Development Control and Promotion Regulations (DCPR), 2034, allowing rehabilitation in the five-km No Development Zone (NDZ) of the park. Deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde had stated on Thursday that the government had identified a 93-acre land parcel for this.

Around 27,000 families have been residing within the SGNP for the last several decades. Of them, around 2,000 are tribal families while the rest are encroachers eligible for rehab.

With this move, NDZ land has been opened up for the first time for rehabilitation; officials said that this paved the way for using NDZ land for other rehab projects in the city. So far, NDZ land was allowed to be used only for Information Technology and Information Technology Enabled Services.

The government has offered three options to the owners of the NDZ plots. The first one is to hand over the land and get transferable development rights (TDR) in return. “The BMC will use half of the land for rehabilitation tenements and the rest for recreational open spaces (ROS). To become eligible in this scheme, the owner is required to have one hectare of land,” states a notification issued by the state urban development department on December 12.

The second option is to divide the land, a minimum of two hectares, into three portions, hand over two to the BMC and develop the third portion as a sale component. The BMC will create rehabilitation tenements on one portion in lieu of TDR and use the second portion for ROS. In the third option, the owner will be allowed to develop the entire two hectares under accommodation reservation (AR) provisions as per regulation 17(1) of the DCPR for the purpose of affordable housing. Regulation 17(1) allows developers to get extra FSI against handing over reserved land (for public use like parks and dispensaries) and built-up area to the BMC.

Around 27,000 families have been residing within the SGNP for the last several decades. Of them, around 2,000 are tribal families while the rest are encroachers eligible for rehab. The state government will construct 27,000 tenements on the NDZ land, and the size of each tenement will be determined by the forest and housing departments.

Senior officials from the state urban development said they had no option but to open up the NDZ land. “The green zone around SGNP can be used for rehabilitation of original tenements but it is mostly affected by the eco-sensitive zones (ESZ),” explained a senior urban development official. “The NDZ land was the only viable option.”

The urban development department has imposed other general conditions, for instance that the owner has three options but will not be allowed to combine any two. “The scheme will be valid for one year,” states the notification. “However, if a sufficient number of proposals are not received within one year, the government may extend the time period.”