Dinesh Kamath's Editorial "Mumbai’s ‘Development Plan 2034’ is interesting" that was published in Newsband

Mumbai’s ‘Development Plan 2034’ is interesting

Will implementation of Mumbai’s ‘Development Plan 2034’ lead to affordable housing? The Maharashtra government has finally come up with its 20-year development plan for Mumbai. It makes a concerted effort to open up the heart of Mumbai to affordable housing,

In the last round of Development Control Regulations, framed in 1991 for the apportionment of mill lands for commercial use, open spaces and residential use, very little affordable housing was actually created. The present policy incentivises a landowner to part with two-thirds of his property by allowing him a floor space index of three (ratio of built-up area to the size of the plot), instead of the present FSI norm of 0.2 on NDZ land. It remains to be seen whether the new norm serves the stated goal of providing nearly a million affordable dwellings.

The policy has decided to develop the heart of Mumbai further skywards, raising the FSI in commercial and densely populated regions. The creation of housing stock does not necessarily lead to houses becoming more affordable, as prices remain artificially high in urban areas. In trying to pack more housing into Mumbai, the plan should also take infrastructure needs into account, such as the impact of a higher population on traffic congestion and sanitation.

Developing the city requires dedicated effort from the government. Providing better housing facility to the ordinary people within the city is a good idea rather than keeping them far away from the city, by this they can avail the basic facility for example rail, road, food products easily. Providing the affordable housing within the city should also take into consideration the rising infrastructure need to commute. Having the metro rail option is a good idea to deal with traffic congestion. Proper drainage system is the need of the hour to make Mumbai a better city.

It is good to develop new dwelling places inside the city to optimise the utility of space in the urban areas rather than send people to places which are far away from the city for want of space and reducing congestion. The policy makers must take into account the menace of heavy rain dipping Mumbai into water. New construction must come out with proper drainage to dispose the rain water. The new idea ought to increase the prospect for Mumbai to become a top smart city.

Under the new plan, an attempt has been made to make maximum land available for affordable housing. In the past, certain areas were designated as No Development Zone (NDZ). Such areas were designated as NDZ for developing them in the future. Today, some NDZ is being opened up. A part of such land would be used for low-cost housing and social infrastructure. About 330 hectares of salt-pan lands not affected by CRZ would be made available for such housing development.

For years, the precedence was given to housing over the office and commercial property. But in the new development plan, commercial spaces are also given equal importance. In the Mumbai city, job opportunities need to be created for the organised sector, therefore, commercial spaces are important, which has been incentivised in the plan.