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Mumbai To Get 3,650 Hectares Of Barred Zone, Salt Pans For Development
Maharashtra will release 3,355 hectares of land previously designated as no-development zone for building apartments and commercial complexes in Mumbai, the world’s second most crowded city.
About 2,100 hectares of it will go for affordable housing under the Development Plan 2034, Ajoy Mehta, municipal commissioner of Mumbai, said in a press conference today. An additional 300 hectares of salt pan land will also go for affordable homes.
 

 
The document determines the city’s land use and infrastructure development for the next 20 years. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had ordered revision of the first version released in February 2014 due protests and public outcry.
Here are the key highlights from the press conference, also addressed by Nitin Karir, secretary at the state’s Urban Development Department:
•1 million affordable homes targeted.
•Open spaces marked as no-construction areas.
•No suggestion to delete open spaces accepted.
•Theme gardens, pay and park parking, old-age homes, walking provision, farmers market earmarked.
•12,859 hectares marked as natural areas—hills, slopes, mangroves, eco sensitive areas—where no development can take place.
 

 
•Fly ash to be allowed as a building material.
•Floor space index — the extent of development allowed on a piece of land — for commercial development increased to 5.

FSI Increased For Residential, Commercial Buildings In Mumbai
The Mumbai Development Plan 2034 approved by the Maharashtra government has increased the floor space index, or the extent of development on a piece of land, for both commercial and residential buildings.
Island City
•Residential: 3
•Commercial: 5
Earlier: 1.33 across commercial and residential
Suburbs
•Residential: 2.5 versus 2 earlier
•Commercial: 5 versus 2.5 earlier