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Mumbai to get cheaper flats, taller buildings
If the Urban Development Department (UDD) gets the go-ahead, Mumbai will grow more vertical. And the city will get more affordable new homes, reports Ketaki Ghoge.
If the Urban Development Department (UDD) gets the go-ahead, Mumbai will grow more vertical. And the city will get more affordable new homes.
The state department has proposed that the Floor Space Index (FSI) of all housing projects across the city be increased to 2.5 if private developers are willing to hand over a certain portion of the constructed flats to the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA).
FSI is an indicator of how high a developer can build on a plot. Currently, the FSI in the island city is 1.33, in the suburbs it’s 1.
The plan has been sent to CM Ashok Chavan for his approval.
“Builders will have to hand over flats constructed on 0.75 FSI to MHADA. They can use the rest 1.75 FSI commercially,” said UDD secretary T.C. Benjamin. “It will increase the commercial and affordable housing stock in the city.”
This means that in a 20-storey building, six floors will go to affordable housing. In bigger projects, developers may be able to build a separate building and hand it over to MHADA.
MHADA’s CEO Gautam Chatterjee proposed this scheme as the housing agency does not have sufficient land in the city at a time when the demand for cheaper housing is high.
MHADA flats are priced lower than market rates. For instance, a 2BHK flat in its middle-income housing scheme is available at Rs 25 lakh to Rs 30 lakh in an area like Oshiwara, where other flats sell at double the price.
