SC clears highrises in place of old Mumbai buildings

The face of Mumbai will change forever as the Supreme Court on Thursday greenlighted the pulling down of all pre-1940 buildings, including chawls, to make way for highrises. The highrises to be constructed by developers to replace over 16,000 buildings in Mumbai, which are eligible for being pulled down and redeveloped, would have to accommodate the present tenants. This means the tenants would move from their dilapidated, dingy tenements and occupy flats of the same size in brand new buildings at no cost. However, the builder will make his money by exploiting a portion of the land to construct a tower, which he can sell in the open market. A bench, comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat and P Sathasivam, upheld the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority’s (MHADA) amended Development Control Rule 33(7) of 1999 Over 16,000 Mumbai bldgs get nod for redevelopment New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday gave the nod for more than 16,000 pre-1940 buildings in Mumbai to be pulled down and redeveloped. The apex court also set aside the limitations on Floor Space Index and other restrictions which were imposed by the Bombay high court. Development Control Regulation 33(7) will have immediate applicability to 16,502 buildings, which are listed under category ‘A’ by MHADA being constructed prior to September 1, 1940. These buildings, irrespective of whether dilapidated or not, can now be redeveloped “whenever 70% of the tenants/occupants of such buildings came together along with their landlords for redevelopment of their properties” and they would also be entitled to extra FSI. The court accepted MHADA’s stand that under the rule, houses with a minimum area of 225 sq ft would be provided free of cost to all tenants in these pre-1940 buildings. While validating DCR 33(7), the bench took into account the fact that “in 1991 nearly 73% of the population (living in such buildings) occupied one-room tenements — vertical slums; 18% lived in tworoom flats. This meant that more than 90% lived in small areas.” “Those occupying large areas constitute only 2.7%. Between 1961 and 1991, the number of households increased to 20,88,000, most of which are only 100 to 120 sq ft in area,” the bench said. “It is thus clear that the policy (seeks) to enhance the quality of lives of those living in such poor conditions,” said Justice Pasayat, writing the judgment for the bench. The high court was not justified in reading additional requirements into DCR 33(7) after holding the same to be valid, the bench said.

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