Mumbai civic body to allow developers to revamp buildings near airports?

Residents of old buildings around the airport may finally get respite as the Development Control Regulation (DCR) is likely to be amended to facilitate their revamp.

Residents of old buildings around the airport may finally get respite as the Development Control Regulation (DCR) is likely to be amended to facilitate their revamp.

The approach funnel is a sensitive zone which is for the safe landing and take-off for aircraft. (HT)

Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) commissioner Ajoy Mehta assured a delegation led by Bharatiya Janata Party’s city unit chief Ashish Shelar to relax revamp norms. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis also promised to do so. Shelar said the redevelopment of these structures was suffering owing to the height restrictions as they interfere with the approach funnel of the airport.

The approach funnel is a sensitive zone which is for the safe landing and take-off for aircraft. Residents from Juhu, Santacruz, Vile Parle and Chandivli will get benefitted after the proposal is cleared.

This means that residents of these buildings may be given the status of project affected people which will allow them to generate transfer of developmental rights (TDR), paving the way for redevelopment.

“Builders were not coming forward as these redevelopment projects were unfeasible owing to height restrictions. Resident were left o raise money themselves, which was virtually impossible considering the huge cost,” said Shelar. “Now, they can generate TDR from their plot and sell the same in the open market and hence raise money to finance their redevelopment project,” he added.

Residents are enthused by the move as this may allow them to move to bigger houses. “For years, we have been suffering in these dilapidated structures over the years. No builder was ready to take up redevelopment of our buildings, saying that we were in a restricted zone,” said Ramesh Chouhan, whose house is located in Juhu.

In 2016, the Bombay high court had ordered strict action against residents of Santacruz found violating height norms. It was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) by Yeshwant Shenoy who pointed out the danger posed to aircraft by high-rises in the funnel zone of the airport. The Mumbai International Airports Limited (MIAL) had surveyed the area and came up with 112 cases which it forwarded to the aviation regulator for action. The court then directed the appellate committee for height clearances of the ministry of civil aviation not to use its discretion to relax height restrictions.

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