In a significant move aimed at revitalizing the city’s housing infrastructure, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced in the legislative assembly that the government would provide additional incentive FSI to enable the redevelopment of old and dilapidated buildings located on defence land or in protected zones.
The announcement addresses longstanding redevelopment constraints in areas such as the Juhu Military Transmission Station and the Central Ordnance Depot in Kandivali-Malad, where high-frequency radar centres have historically restricted building heights.
Replying to concerns raised by local MLAs, Fadnavis explained that the proposed Housing for All policy would make redevelopment projects viable in constrained areas.
He said, “Under this, redevelopment will be encouraged by offering free FSI up to 300 sq ft for economically weaker sections and 600 sq ft for low-income group beneficiaries.” He further emphasized that the incentive would help builders cover rehabilitation requirements while safeguarding the original landowners’ rights.
“By providing incentive FSI, the rehab component will be covered for builders while protecting the basic FSI rights of original landowners. Any unconsumed FSI will be allowed to be converted into transfer of development rights (TDR), enabling builders to raise funds for the projects. The existing incentives and premium benefits under the relevant development regulations will continue,” CM Fadnavis added.
The Chief Minister also highlighted government efforts to relocate the high-frequency radar centres that had limited redevelopment. Regarding Dahisar, he stated, “The union ministry of civil aviation and the Airports Authority of India have agreed to this. The state government has agreed to bear the relocation cost and provide alternative land free of cost. Fifty percent of the AAI land at Dahisar will be made available for public use.” Concerning the Juhu radar, Fadnavis noted, “The government has proposed an alternative site for it, which was currently under technical evaluation by AAI. Once the technical study is completed and the site is finalised, the approval process for shifting the Juhu radar will begin. After the relocation of these radar centres, the path will be cleared for the redevelopment of buildings in the Dahisar and Juhu areas, bringing long-awaited relief to residents.”
Residents of Juhu, represented by the Juhu Wireless-Affected Residents association, have long campaigned against height restrictions imposed due to the radar centres. The restrictions, initially notified by the Defence Ministry in 1976, stalled redevelopment projects when a fresh notification was issued following the Adarsh Housing scam in 2010. More than two hundred buildings in Juhu were impacted, and the residents were so upset that they had even threatened to boycott the BMC elections over the issue.
CM Fadnavis's statement is a relief to those long-standing problems by giving builders the incentive and outlining a clear plan for redevelopment. Additional FSI is offered by the government along with the possibility of conversion to TDR so as to keep the equilibrium between the economically weaker sections, low-income groups, original landowners, and developers.
The relocation of radar centres, together with these new incentives, is therefore expected to unfreeze the redevelopment projects that have been on hold, increase the housing stock, and lead to better urban planning in Mumbai's defence and protected zones.
With this move, the government takes a major step towards its comprehensive plan of ensuring fair urban redevelopment while at the same time tackling the intricate infrastructure problems. As the redevelopment works gather pace, the residents and developers will be looking forward to getting better housing, optimized land use, and revival of the areas that had been stuck due to technical and regulatory issues
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