In a bid to check violations by builders,Municipal Commissioner Subodh Kumar has expedited the process of redrafting the Development Control Rules (DCR),promising that the new rules will plug all loopholes in DCR. Kumar had earlier said that despite DCR,a majority of building proposals are sent to the municipal commissioner seeking concessions or relaxations. The present DCR are archaic and need to evolve. The rules have many loopholes that allow builders to create Floor Space Index (FSI) out of thin air. They ask for concessions and additional FSI for things such as car parking,decks,flower beds among others and eventually this extra FSI is misused to create more built up area, said Kumar. The additional built-up area,free of FSI,is paid for by flat buyers. Kumar said the new DCR will include a compact plan where FSI will be fixed and there will be no room for builders to manipulate the rules for concessions. In a bid to discourage developers from reducing mandatory open spaces around new buildings,the commissioner,through a recent circular,hiked the premium that the BMC charges from builders who seek concessions in rules governing spaces that need to be maintained. In such a case,the money that comes to our coffers is just incidental, said Kumar. He added that builders would not be allowed to make huge profits at the cost of DCR. If rules are compromised with in most cases,what is the point of having them? DCRs should be strong enough to make this a scam-free city when it comes to land, said Kumar. The finer details of the DCR are being worked on by Kumar and his team and will be submitted to the state government this month. Kumar said citizens have to run to the BMC for permissions for small changes to be made to their houses such as the use of loft,covering the balcony among others. Why should it matter to the BMC what the citizen is using the loft for or if he wants to cover his balcony. We are also reworking some of these DCRs to make life easier for citizens too, said Kumar.
