Redevelopment of Old Structures, Slums and Other Structures in Mumbai
I. Background
Mumbai originally known as Bombay consisted of several islands. The islands, I think slowly merged and in the old days Mumbai was considered to be of two major islands one south Mumbai extending up to Sion and Mahim and the other the suburbs.
Prior to 1937, the development of Mumbai particularly that of Greater Mumbai was very well planned and the infrastructure provided at that time even now takes cares of the requirements to a great extent. Since my birth in 1937, I have stayed in Mutunga (East) and have seen the infrastructure provided at that time. The main roads, internal roads and the other facilities like sewerage and storm water drain were very well planned. The roads were broad enough with beautiful and fairly wide footpath for the comforts of both the vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Almost all buildings had their own compound wall.
Greenery was provided to an adequate extent.
The subsequent developments in the suburbs have not been fully environmentally friendly. To describe this, I am taking the area of Pestomsagar as an example. I have been associated with this locality since 1957.
The lay out of this area cannot be considered very well. The reasons briefly are:
1.The internal roads and the arterial road are very narrow. With the increase in the vehicular and human population, the arterial roads have become very congested and cause great inconvenience. The internal roads are not adequate and generally there are no footpaths for use by the citizens.
2.The storm water drainage is an open one developed but not fully resulting in various problems such as flooding, nuisance etc. The sewerage system may be adequate but the ever growing population and increasing number of structures coming up, a state of stagnation prevails.
3.Piece meal redevelopment of buildings without examining the actual requirement of Government for infrastructure development. A classic example can be given with regards to the development of the buildings on the Ghatkopar Asalpha road. Many new high rise structures have come up on the road, but the road is still narrow even after the completion of the road development work. It appears that the owners have been permitted redevelopment without acquiring sufficient land for the infrastructure development. All approvals for building plans should be subject to strict conditions.
Even the footpaths, sewerage and storm water drainage may not be adequate.
4.Uncontrolled proliferation of slums has taken place resulting in further health and other hazards.
5.The Methi river which was considered to be a useful waterway has also become very polluted and has added to the problems in the city. Though steps are being taken to solve the problems, they do not seem to be adequate.
6.Added to these woes lack of Determination, Discipline and Determination at all levels has aggravated the problems and even if we try our best to improve the city, the city may not improve perceptibly. The proverb identified with Grasshopper:
“One step forward and two steps backwards”
can be considered to be very appropriate. If we are able to emulate “Mr. Lee”, the able leader of Singapore, the situation will be totally different. It is said in various quarters that Singapore is a very small country and cannot be compared to Mumbai which is much bigger. We in India have set up the example of taking governance to the root level i.e. Panchayati Raj and hence it is not difficult to manage the whole system. Even in big cities, we have the Municipal Corporation comprising of various wards for management. It is absolutely necessary to gear up the whole system by adopting the principles of Mr. Lee-viz.
“the three Ds- Dedication, Determination and Discipline.”
Mumbai being a very beautiful and helpful city has been a haven for citizens from all corners of the country and citizens have been entering the city regularly. It is said that any citizens of India with any qualification or practical experience can find opportunity to earn a living in this city. It is also observed that many citizens treat this place as a heaven for work opportunity but still continue to have their patriotic interest in their native places. This situation is mainly due to lack of good employment opportunities in various places in the country.
II. Some thoughts for solving the problems of Mumbai.
Each area should be taken for total redevelopment instead of a piece meal development. The entire area should be well planned with the various amenities mentioned below being properly located:
1.The outer periphery should be utilized for providing shops, service facilities like small fire station, police station; utilities control rooms, petrol pumps and entertainment avenues etc. Proliferation of garages in residential area should be strictly avoided.
2.Schools, hospitals and minimum religious amenities should be located in the internal areas at suitable place.
3.There could be one public ground for general purposes and if feasible this could be on a podium basis so that the area underneath could be used for parking of vehicles, rain water management etc.
4.Small recreation grounds (podium type) should be located at convenient places with modern amenities for Senior and handicapped citizens, some parking space for vehicles of residents of the area etc.
5.To take redevelopment of buildings some sort of relocation of existing buildings would be necessary. Every effort could be made to retain the same area of each plot of the buildings. If it is very essential the plot size could be reduced but for the purposes of redevelopment FSI should be on the basis of the original area of the plot and this should always be reckoned in case of future increase in FSI.
6.In all the areas in Mumbai, large portion of the land belongs to various Government Departments. In the case of redevelopment, the policy of the Government for granting redevelopment should be same throughout instead of adopting different policy by different Departments. The most favorable policy should be adopted. In brief The issues in brief are indicated in the annexure.
7. While assessing the ratable value for the purposes of taxes etc, the rate should not be changed for some years so the uniform benefit will be available for total development.
8. Slum relocation in the area, if possible could be considered but the structures should be multistoried and these buildings should be fully protected by compound so that the residents do not use the road for various purposes and create nuisance.
9. Encouraging mushroom growth of garages should be avoided and these should be located in a separate area with all facilities. Similarly parking of heavy vehicles in residential areas should be strictly prohibited.
10. Each area could be demarcated by raising high rise walls to enable free movement of vehicular traffic on the main roads. No doubt some entry points from the internal area cold be provided to enable the residents of the area to use the main road.
11. Energy Traansmision: A very important requirement is the transmission of power in the city. I think that in the old city of Mumbai, transmission lines do not pass through the residential area with the result there is no problem for high rise structures. In the suburbs the transmission lines pass through residential area thus causing difficulty in proper utilization of land. The transmission lines in the suburbs should be drastically changed. Though this may be a Herculean task some thought should be given to implement this decision.
12.Mithi River: High rise wall should be erected on both sides with footpaths so that any improper use could be detected immediately and rectified. Some sort of beautification could be done along the river. If possible use of this river for boating as a pleasure ride could be considered. I think, this sort of arrangement exists in foreign countries.
Finally, it is absolutely necessary to have proper supervision at the stage of implementation and thereafter strict monitoring as otherwise the efforts would go waste and we will be back to the old position and the place can never again be improved.
Annexure
- The tenure of land and type of building constructed can be classified as under:
Sr. No. / Tenure of land and
Other details.
1. / **Freehold land and building constructed by society.
2 / Land gifted to Pestomji by Govt. of India and sold to others
3 / **Land allotted to individual by Government –Revenue Department and transferred or sold to builder/society for construction of building
4 / Land allotted by Government-Revenue Department on the basis of proposed membership-old allotment.
5. / Land allotted by Government
Revenue Department on the basis of proposed membership-others
6. / Building constructed by MAHDA and allotted by them
** It was reported in newspapers long back that the Collector has made a statement that the lands in and around Chembur belong to the Government.
B.
i.In the case of lands in category 1, 3 in view of the statement of the Collector it is absolutely necessary to establish the title to the property and ascertain as to who is the original owner of the land and if it is Government , the terms and conditions of allotment. Here, I may mention that there was a news Item in DNA Dt. 8-10-2007 challenging the authority of the Sub Registrar from restricting registration of sale transactions and asking them to obtain permission from the Government. It may also be mentioned that one Shri. Pai, who has purchased a flat in Pestomsagar, has said that he found it difficult to get the document registered and that he was asked to get NOC from the Collector. It is reported that he paid the amount demanded by the Collector and thereafter got the NOC and registered the document with the Sub-Registrar.
ii.In the case of land as shown in Sr.No.4 , where the members were from the general public, there was a condition that the total salary of members including family member residing with such member did not exceed certain specified amount. However this was relaxed in the case of Government servants and employees of some notified Government Institutions. There was also another condition in the allotment that the flats shall not be transferred without written approval of the Government. While seeking approval for transfer, the Government was insisting on a 50% share of the difference in price.
iii .In the case of land shown in Sr. No.5, the basic condition of approval of member was the same as indicated in (ii) but in case of Government and other specified institutions, if the salary of the members exceeded, the specified amount, such members were required to pay extra occupancy price calculated at the market rate fixed by the Government.
C. In the year 1999. The Government has issued guidelines for transfer of flats and has indicated that payment will have to be made depending upon the location and the period for which the flats have been occupied. But the societies are required to seek permission in writing for the transfer.
D. Having narrated the position of the building constructed, it is felt that in the case of land allotted by the Government permission for redevelopment of building will be necessary and the additional flats available will be sold to others. It is necessary to study the financial implications of approval of new members while taking up redevelopment of building. If additional amount as per the Government’s rate are to be paid for new members, the proposition of redevelopment may not be feasible due to various reasons. Here, I may mention that the terms and conditions of redevelopment in respect; of MHADA, and other such types of government agencies should be ascertained and the Government should apply the same policy in respect of plots allotted by the Revenue Department.
E. There is a news item in Times Property dt. October 13, 2007(page 4) about the documents required for redevelopment which interalia include N.A. Order and Form No.6 from Revenue Department. It is possible that a number of societies may not be paying NA taxes regularly due to various reasons. There are various problems in the case of defaults. These will have to be sorted out. Further, since Municipal Corporation has been established, the question of levy of NA will have to be reviewed.
As regards Form No.6, this is required to be obtained from the Revenue Department. It is desirable to ascertain what is the nature of the form and what are the requirements to be complied for securing the form should be ascertained like whether it has any extra stipulation in respect of land allotted by the Department.