FOUR months ago, Hindi film actor Vinod Khanna bought a 2,500-square-foot (1 sq ft is 0.09 sq metre) apartment in Mumbais Malabar Hill for Rs.30 crore. Khanna set a record of sorts in the city, whose real estate market had yet to recover from the Rs.34-crore sale of an apartment on Marine Drive. The sales of these apartments, say realty experts, are not unique cases. These are the prices luxury apartments in the city command. Regular-to-lower-segment residential and commercial space is not that far down the pricing ladder. Undoubtedly, the citys property value is among the highest in the world.
So, when the Supreme Court recently cleared the way for the redevelopment of 19,000 dilapidated cessed buildings in Mumbai, it was a bonanza for builders. Stating that the over two lakh people whose families have lived for generations in these cessed buildings deserve new and safer homes, the apex court relaxed the number of approvals builders were required to get and allowed an increase in the floor space index (FSI). The ruling is expected to have an impact on real estate prices. It is believed that the demolition of these buildings will open up land on the island, thus bringing a much-needed correction in the prices.
However, concerned citizens are stunned by the judgment, which, they believe, only builders will benefit from. In fact, the increase in construction will put a huge strain on the citys infrastructure. There have been instances in the past when cessed buildings were demolished, and even though the same resettlement rules for tenants applied, none of the original tenants was given what was promised. Furthermore, the ruling reduces the open space buildings are required to have. This is catastrophic for the environment, the citizens say.
More : flonnet.com
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