Powers for granting more FSI to be delegated to civic chiefs

FSI is a development tool which defines the extent of construction permissible on a plot. It is the ratio of built-up area to the total plot area.

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Although development control regulations formulated for municipal corporations in Maharashtra already contain provisions for granting additional FSI to such projects, Fadnavis’s predecessors, all of whom controlled the high profile Urban Development (UD) department, had retained final powers to sanction such proposals with themselves.

This meant every proposal for grant of additional FSI, had to travel all the way to the state secretariat.

When contacted, Nitin Kareer, Principal Secretary (Urban Development), confirmed the decision. “A proposal for delegating the powers is in the works,” he said.

Another source said that the new initiative was a part of effort to improve the ease of doing business in the state and was aimed at bringing down the time taken for such permissions.

The Chief Minister had earlier done away with the need for prior state nod for proposals for grant of additional FSI for dilapidated cessed buildings in the island city of Mumbai.

Town planners, however, are apprehensive on whether the civic bodies have the wherewithal and the expertise to sanction additional FSI proposals at their own level. A senior official even raised doubts on the possibility of misuse of powers.

Sources in the Chief Minister’s Office, however, clarified that Fadnavis had directed the UD department to formulate exhaustive guidelines for grant of additional FSI. Kareer confirmed this too.

The government has proposed not to allow any discretionary powers to the municipal commissioners for such cases.

A World Bank report had earlier slammed the state government over the time taken for approvals and construction permits in Mumbai.