Exceed FSI by 25%, pay 100% premium: BMC

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) wants to mop up around Rs 3,000 crore a year by levying a hefty premium on developers who want to build beyond the permissible floor space index (FSI). 

    On Tuesday, municipal commissioner Subodh Kumar explained the proposed guidelines for the construction industry to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan. TOI has learnt that Kumar's proposals include allowing developers to build an extra 25% above the sanctioned FSI in a residential project, for which they will be charged 100% premium. FSI is the ratio of permissible built-up area vis-a-vis the plot size. 
    For commercial buildings, the BMC will allow 15% additional built-up area and charge a similarly hefty premium. These additional areas include flower beds, lily ponds, voids, staircases, balconies, car decks and terraces, which at present are not counted in the FSI. However, many builders illegally sell them to the flat buyer and encourage them to amalgamate these spaces into their living area. For instance, the living room could be expanded by taking the flower bed area into it. 
Managers for societies? 
    In a bid to streamline the handling of disputes, the cooperatives department has proposed that every CHS with more than 50 flats should have a professional housing manager. P 3 Flat prices will soar 30-40%, say builders 
Mumbai: Municipal commissioner Subodh Kumar's guidelines on levying 100% premium if a builder exceeds the permissible FSI have rankled a section of Mumbai's builders, who say apartment prices will increase by 30% to 40%. 
    However, senior civic sources debunked the claim, saying there was no correlation between the proposed premium and property prices. "The new guidelines, if approved by the state government, will break the nexus between unscrupulous builders and corrupt civic officials. It will also put an end to the misuse of certain spaces within a building," said one of them. Some builders, too, described Kumar's new plan as "pathbreaking" and said it would expedite building approvals and curb corruption. 
    Civic officials said the misuse was so rampant that some builders could virtually double the size of the saleable area of an apartment by illegally merging these "free of FSI" spaces into the habitable area. The BMC detected that in some cases, while the actual size of the flat was just 1,500 sq ft, the terrace adjoining it could measure 3,000 sq ft. The builder would sell the apartment showing its size as 4,500 sq ft. Although rules restrict a flowerbed area to 1.2-1.5 m, some civic commissioners had in the past allowed 
certain builders to 
construct up to 3 m. 
    Civic sources 
said this is the first time in the recent history of the BMC that a municipal commissioner has turned the screws on builders. The new guidelines say building proposals will be cleared at the level of the BMC executive engineer and developers need not approach the civic commissioner for concession. 
    The commissioner has proposed that the height of the ceiling be reduced from 4.2 m to 
    3.6 m to prevent 
    construction of a mezzanine floor.Additional parking space in a building, which is beyond the mandatory requirement, will be counted in the FSI. Developers said this would lead to problems because many families own more than one car. "Will they be forced to park on the road?" wondered one of them. Car decks on each floor will not be permitted.Otherwise,they will be counted in the FSI. 
    Similarly, a 
    covered swimming pool within the flat will also be counted in the FSI. Servants' toilets, which were allowed on the floor landing earlier, will now be sanctioned only in the mid-landing area of the staircase. The building's society office room, meter room, mailbox room or the management services room in a mall/office building will be free of FSI only if they are not adjoining the habitable area so as to prevent their misuse. 
HIGHER FSI, MORE MOOLAH 
The premium is based on the ready reckoner rate Currently, the BMC charges 25% premium on areas (staircases, lobby, flowerbeds etc) that are free of FSI 
The civic body now proposes to charge premium on these free areas 
The BMC hopes to collect at least 3,000 crore by levying 100% premium New guidelines will reduce builder's saleable area For commercial buildings, BMC will allow 15% additional built-up area and charge a similarly hefty premium THE OTHER PLANS 
Height of the ceiling to be reduced from 4.2 m to 3.6 m to prevent the construction of mezzanine floor 
    Additional parking space beyond the mandatory requirement will be counted in FSI Building's society office or meter room will be free of FSI only if they are not adjoining the habitable area 
    Covered swimming pool within the flat will be counted in FSI, it has been proposed