An FSI increase of 0.33x in suburban Mumbai was dismissed by the High Court. The negative impact of such an FSI increase on TDR prices would now be reversed.
The two-judge divisional bench of the Bombay High Court ruled in favor of the public interest litigation (PIL) filed, dismissing the increase in the FSI in suburban Mumbai (from 1 to 1.33) passed by the government of Maharashtra in Apr ’08. The reasons stated included the right to amend development plans, procedure followed by the government, no change in the development plan of the city until the effect on infrastructure has been assessed, legal authority of the government to charge a premium on the FSI without such action being sanctioned by law.
Although the government could approach a higher bench or the apex court, we believe this is unlikely, given the nature of the judgment and the recent softening of the government’s stance. Also, high FSI, in the form of other development schemes (SRS / MHADA / re-development, etc.), has already been allocated in Mumbai.