State restores higher FSI in the suburbs

The state Cabinet, on Wednesday, cleared the amendment to the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act, 1966, in order to nullify a recent high court ruling that stayed its decision to allow higher Floor Space Index (FSI) in the suburbs. FSI indicates how high a developer can build on a plot.

Buildings in the suburbs can now go higher, which means there will be more flats for Mumbaiites in the near future.

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The state Cabinet, on Wednesday, cleared the amendment to the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act, 1966, in order to nullify a recent high court ruling that stayed its decision to allow higher Floor Space Index (FSI) in the suburbs. FSI indicates how high a developer can build on a plot.

It allows the civic body to increase base FSI from 1 to 1.33 in the suburbs by charging a premium in exchange for the extra 0.33 FSI.

The ordinance is likely to be issued by next week, amending section 22 of the MRTP Act to include a provision for levying and collecting a premium on FSI hike. The court had struck down the state’s 2008 decision saying the Act had no such provision.

The amendment will be implemented with retrospective effect from April 2008.