15-25% Open Recreation Space Mandatory: Supreme Court Verdict
The Supreme Court (SC) gave a ruling on Tuesday that it is mandatory for developers in Mumbai to set aside a minimum of 15-25% plot area for open recreational spaces. Several buildings had recently created these recreational spaces at the podium level and added them to the open spaces at ground level to satisfy the open space norm.
Open spaces under DCR
Under the Development Control Regulation (DCR) 23, the minimum open space in a building with plot size of 1,500-2,500 sq.mt must be 15%. For plot sizes between 2,500-10,000 sq.mt, the open space must be 20% of the plot size and for plot sizes over 10,000 sq.mt, the open space must be 25% of the plot size. The SC said that open spaces at ground level are necessary as there was too much concretization there was serious reduction in open spaces in the city.
There is another regulation DCR 38 (34) related to podiums. The amendment (iv) to this regulation introduced by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) in January 2012 states that recreational spaces prescribed under DCR 23 may be allocated either at ground level or on an open to sky podium.
The court made it clear that the recreational space provided under DCR 23 cannot be reduced on the basis of the regulations for podium and any open space provided under DCR 38 (34) (iv) must be only in addition to the open space provided under DCR 23. It trashed the tweaked rules that affected the open spaces at ground level. The court also invalidated a rule permitting 1.5 mt passages on small plots under redevelopment and termed it a fire hazard. It said that a passage of minimum 6 mt is necessary on plots up to 600 sq.mt, unless the plot is adjoining a road. The court said that the chief fire officer must certify the accessibility for every reconstruction proposal.
Impact on projects
The court’s ruling will impact more than 60% of real estate projects in Mumbai, especially the highrises. There is very less open recreational space on the ground at neighbourhood level due to increased need for basement and podium parking. As a consequence, height restrictions for buildings in the city will have to be strictly observed in order to accommodate the compulsory open spaces.
