Developers in Mumbai have to keep open recreational spaces

Q: Is it mandatory for the developers in Mumbai have to keep open recreational spaces?

Vineet Tendulkar, Mumbai

25th December 2013

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Replies (5)

Hi everyone,
Many new building projects proposed in Mumbai have been stuck over the past three months. Mumbai’s municipal commissioner Sitaram Kunte has been rejecting all these projects as the buildings proposed do not meet the specifications of open space ordered by a recent Supreme Court ruling.

Sunil Joshi, Mumbai

27th August 2014

Comment

Hi Sunil,
And it is heard that the BMC chief's office receives about 500-700 building projects in a year and the civic body earns over Rs 1500 crore by charging builders a variety of premiums, including those for compensatory floor space index (FSI).

Vinay Dixit, Mumbai

9th September 2014

@Vinay,
The court held that developers would have to mandatorily set aside at least 15-25% of the plot size at the ground level towards open recreational spaces. At present, many buildings have been creating recreational spaces at the podium level, instead of providing all of it on the ground level.

Sunil Joshi, Mumbai

9th September 2014

@Sunil,
But builders say it is a challenge for them to provide recreational facilities at ground level while
keeping the project commercially workable. They can't provide all the recreational space at ground level as there is an increasing need for parking space in the city.

Vinay Dixit, Mumbai

12th September 2014

It is true but Mumbai's open spaces that includes parks, playing fields and recreation grounds for only 1.95 sq-mtr space per capita. This number is grossly below the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization standard of 9 sq-mtrs per capita and significantly less than other Indian cities too. As per the report Delhi and Bangalore offer 15 and 6.4 sq mtrs public open space per capita respectively.

Sunil Joshi, Mumbai

12th September 2014

This ruling is applicable only to Mumbai or also to Thane & Navi Mumbai ?

Ankit Modi,

7th August 2014

Comment

@Ankit,
As per the apex court’s order, it is now binding on developers to keep six metres of passage around a proposed building and maintain 15 to 25% of open-to-sky space at ground level against the total size mentioned in a plan.

Vinay Dixit, Mumbai

27th August 2014

It is supreme court Judgement so it applies Thane & Navi Mumbai as well. These developers will have to modify their building plans as per new rules for submission to the BMC.

Vinay Dixit, Mumbai

12th September 2014

Is this decision going to impact on projects anyway in Mumbai?

Vineet Tendulkar, Mumbai

26th December 2013

Comment

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.

Kishore Pathak, Mumbai

26th December 2013

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.

Shrikant Kejriwal, Mumbai

25th December 2013

Comment

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.

Abhishke Karule, Mumbai

25th December 2013

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.

Shrikant Kejriwal, Mumbai

25th December 2013

Comment

How much open space a builder has to keep in a building with plot size of 1,500-2,500 sq.mt?

Vineet Tendulkar, Mumbai

25th December 2013

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.

Kishore Pathak, Mumbai

25th December 2013