Mumbai:
The next time you're inconvenienced because of a fleet of cars parked on the street, it could well be the fault of the state government or the developer of a building on that street.
This, because builders, who have been granted extra Floor Space Index (FSI) to allot extra parking space in building compounds, are allegedly misusing it by constructing more flats instead.
The result: Residents park vehicles on the street outside, causing inconvenience to motorists and pedestrians.
And, the state government is to be blamed for that because it had modified development control (DC) rules to give the benefit of extra FSI to city builders.
Documents show that as per the Urban Development Ministry's notification of November 2008, development control regulations were modified in the city.
Advocate and former IPS officer Y P Singh has served legal notices to the state government, Urban Development Department and BMC, pointing out how change in DC rules has benefited many builders.
"Builders were granted FSI 4 instead of 1.33. The extra FSI was for parking lots within allotted premises. Instead, they used it to construct apartments, leaving less parking space within housing society premises," Singh said.
"So, you find several vehicles parked on streets, blocking roads and creating traffic snarls," he added.
Singh stressed upon the need for authorities to ensure rules are implemented. "It will help ease the traffic scene," he said.
"It's about a multi-storey car parking scam in the city which helps developers earn crores," he said. "It fetches developers huge profits."
To construct a multi-storey parking lot, a builder needs a plot of at least 1,000 sq m in the city and 2,000 sq m in the suburbs.
If the plot is within 500 metre of a railway or metro station, government office, tourist spot or religious place, FSI for multi-level parking is 4 in the city and 3 in the suburbs.
This means the developer can develop the plot by three or four times bigger than the actual area of the plot. Otherwise, it is 3.5 in the city and 3 in the suburbs.
But what do officials say?
"Of the 68 multi-storey parking lots in the city sanctioned by the Urban Development department, more than 10 are in existence. This scheme needs to be stopped as we have been receiving complaints about it. We'll definitely look into the matter," said Mumbai's Guardian Minister Naseem Khan.
"The government has a policy to give extra FSI to improve infrastructure projects," said Minister of State for Urban Development, Bhaskar Jadhav.
This, because builders, who have been granted extra Floor Space Index (FSI) to allot extra parking space in building compounds, are allegedly misusing it by constructing more flats instead.
The result: Residents park vehicles on the street outside, causing inconvenience to motorists and pedestrians.
And, the state government is to be blamed for that because it had modified development control (DC) rules to give the benefit of extra FSI to city builders.
Documents show that as per the Urban Development Ministry's notification of November 2008, development control regulations were modified in the city.
Advocate and former IPS officer Y P Singh has served legal notices to the state government, Urban Development Department and BMC, pointing out how change in DC rules has benefited many builders.
"Builders were granted FSI 4 instead of 1.33. The extra FSI was for parking lots within allotted premises. Instead, they used it to construct apartments, leaving less parking space within housing society premises," Singh said.
"So, you find several vehicles parked on streets, blocking roads and creating traffic snarls," he added.
Singh stressed upon the need for authorities to ensure rules are implemented. "It will help ease the traffic scene," he said.
"It's about a multi-storey car parking scam in the city which helps developers earn crores," he said. "It fetches developers huge profits."
To construct a multi-storey parking lot, a builder needs a plot of at least 1,000 sq m in the city and 2,000 sq m in the suburbs.
If the plot is within 500 metre of a railway or metro station, government office, tourist spot or religious place, FSI for multi-level parking is 4 in the city and 3 in the suburbs.
This means the developer can develop the plot by three or four times bigger than the actual area of the plot. Otherwise, it is 3.5 in the city and 3 in the suburbs.
But what do officials say?
"Of the 68 multi-storey parking lots in the city sanctioned by the Urban Development department, more than 10 are in existence. This scheme needs to be stopped as we have been receiving complaints about it. We'll definitely look into the matter," said Mumbai's Guardian Minister Naseem Khan.
"The government has a policy to give extra FSI to improve infrastructure projects," said Minister of State for Urban Development, Bhaskar Jadhav.
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