Maharashtra hikes premium for FSI under public parking policy

The 60% premium will be linked to the ready reckoner rates of the plot for the additional built-up space given minus the cost of construction of the public lot, amenities

In a move that will help the state mop up additional revenues even as it pinches the home buyers more, the state’s urban development department (UDD) on Tuesday issued a final notification hiking the premium charged under the public parking policy. This means projects that have availed incentive Floor Space Index (FSI) in exchange for building public parking lots will now have to pay a premium of 60% of the ready reckoner rates of the plot (besides other factors) instead of the earlier 40%.

This 60% premium will be linked to the ready reckoner rates of the plot for the additional built-up space given minus the cost of construction of the public lot, amenities. This will also hike realty costs as the developer will pass on this additional charge on to end consumers. FSI is an indicator of how high a developer can build on a plot. It is the ratio of the total built-up area to the size of the plot. The Fadnavis government had issued a draft notification to this effect last year in April, which has been finalised now.

The public parking policy dates back to 2008 and was cleared by former chief minister Ashok Chavan. It offered an incentive FSI of up to 4 to developers and led to a spurt of high rises, especially in the congested erstwhile mill land in the island city. Critics had argued the policy favoured developers at the cost of the public. In 2012, the then chief minister Prithviraj Chavan amended the policy, charging a premium on the incentive FSI instead of giving it for free.