Open spaces reserved as tourism development zones (TDZs) are next in line for the state government’s floor space index (FSI) largesse.
For such plots, the government has proposed doubling the FSI from 0.2 to 0.4 and allowing more construction. Within Mumbai, land reserved in the Development Plan (DP) for parks, gardens and recreation grounds, with a minimum area of one hectare, can be earmarked TDZ as per a 15-year-old state government guideline.
These sites are identified by the state in consultation with the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) “from time to time as suitable for promotion of tourism”. However, when contacted, neither the MTDC and the tourism department, nor the BMC’s DP department was able to furnish the exact number and list of TDZ plots.
“The government has received the representation that existing benefit of additional FSI to residential hotels in island city and suburbs shall also be extended in respect of buildings to be constructed in TDZ,” a notification states.
“In Mumbai, TDZs are mostly spaces that are reserved for recreational purposes like clubs or golf courses. There are also plots in Borivli, Goregaon, Manori and Malad that are earmarked TDZ. Increasing the FSI will lead to the creation of more rooms,” said Avinash Dhakane, joint managing director, MTDC.
Sources said the urban development department has received representations from associations running clubs and recreation grounds asking for the extra FSI. Individual requests have come from the Acres Club at Chembur, the 240-acre Royal Palms at Goregaon, Millennium Club at Juhu, and Bai Kabibai Hansraj Morarji Charity Trust that has converted a 30,400 sq m playground plot at Andheri into a TDZ.
“We are planning an entertainment centre with staying facility for tourists on a complex adjoining the Acres Club. We hope to attract tourists to Chembur and change the face of the suburbs, known for being crowded and having polluting factories,” said an Acres Club official.
The notification says construction can be carried out using the additional FSI only with government approval, and that the remaining part of the garden or recreation ground should be left open to the general public. Also, developers will be charged a premium at 25 per cent of the ready reckoner rates for the additional FSI; half of this will go to the BMC
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