Wednesday, January 1, 2014

MUM Bai gardens and parks, civic body failed to use even 10% of funds,to undertake "study tour" of Kerala


Civic markets panel members to visit Kerala

TNN | Jan 1, 2014, 02.15 AM IST

READ MORE Members|Kerala|Civic markets panel
MUMBAI: Members of the BMC's markets and gardens committee have planned to undertake a "study tour" of Kerala. A few civic officials will also be part of the trip, which will kick off at the end of January.

 The civic markets and gardens committee consists of 32 members. Committee chairman Saba Reddy Bora confirmed that members would visit the southern state on a study tour. "About 15-16 committee members will visit Kerala along with some of the civic officials. The estimated cost of tour is Rs 10 lakh and it will be borne by the BMC," he said.

 The civic body has failed to use even 10% of the funds allotted to the development of gardens and parks in the city so far. The BMC has made a provision of Rs 300 crore in the annual budget for these works. "We will study markets and gardens in Kerala to see if their ideas can be implemented to develop our markets and gardens," Bora added.


    1. NDTV ‎- 5 days ago
      An official study tour of 30 Karnataka legislators to exotic holiday spots in South America has set off a controversy at a time when parts of the ...

  2. Karnataka Chief Minister hints at rethink over legislators' 'study tour ...

    www.ndtv.com › South‎
    5 days ago - As outrage grows over a proposed junket of 30 Karnataka legislators to South America even as the state battles drought, Chief Minister K ...

  3. For study tour, 30 Karnataka legislators will fly to exotic ... - NDTV.com

    www.ndtv.com › Video‎
    6 days ago
    Watch For study tour, 30 Karnataka legislators will fly to exotic holiday spots in South America Video on NDTV ...

  4. For study tour, Karnataka legislators will fly to exotic holiday spots ...

    www.ndtv.com › Video‎
    6 days ago - Watch For study tour, Karnataka legislators will fly to exotic holiday spots Video on NDTV.com. An official study tour of 30 Karnataka legislators ...

  5. Karnataka legislators to fly to South America for study tour

    www.newsinshorts.com/news?...karnataka-legislators-to-fly...study-tour‎
    6 days ago - As part of a study tour, 30 Karnataka legislators are all set to fly out next month to exotic holiday spots in South America. The tour has fuelled ...

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    Chennai to get more green cover with 224 new parks

    ,TNN | Jan 8, 2014, 06.04 AM IST
    READ MORE open space reservation|Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority|Chennai Corporation
    CHENNAI: In an effort to increase the green cover in the city, Chennai Corporation has decided to develop 224 new parks in the expanded areas, bringing the total number of parks in the city to 486. This will still be lower than Delhi (15,000), Mumbai (1,300), Bangalore (721) and Hyderabad (709), but is nevertheless a good move, feel experts.

    The corporation issued work orders for 137 parks in 2012-13 and 87 in 2013-14 in the Thiruvottiyur, Manali, Madhavaram , Ambattur, Valasaravakkam , Alandur, Perungudi and Sholinganallur zones. "We completed 138 parks and work on the rest will be finished in a few months," said a corporation official.

    In many expanded areas, vacant spaces and open space reservation (OSR) lands have been converted into parks. "We have also renovated a few poorly maintained parks," the official said.

    Sources said the corporation's parks department was short-staffed and ill-equipped to maintain green spaces. According to the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority's second master plan, each Chennaiite has just 0.46 sq m of green space against the 17 sq m of green space per resident in Bangalore. Green space, officials say, includes parks, avenue trees and forest areas.

    G Mullaivanam, founder of Tree Bank, an NGO, said parks department officials rarely inspect parks. "Some residents' associations maintain parks better," he said.

    Acorporation official said they planned to appoint more staff in the parks department. "There will be a director of parks and three new park superintendents for three regions in the city," he said.

    Large infrastructure projects, including metro rail, have claimed many parks in the city. The corporation park in Ashok Nagar, Thiru-Vi-Ka Park in Shenoy Nagar, Nehru Park on Poonamallee High Road and May Day Park in Chintadripet are now closed for metro rail work.

    Experts say more parks should be set up. C P R Environmental Education Centre joint director P Sudhakar said an increase in the number of parks was related to the green cover of a city. "But Chennai continues to lag behind other metros. There should be more trees in parks and the civic body should allocate adequate funds for maintenance of parks."


     

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

road repair scam,mum Bai


Contractors bid 52% below road repair base price

TNN | Jan 1, 2014, 03.17 AM IST

READ MORE underground utility owners.|Tenders|contractors|BMC’s base price
MUMBAI: Contractors have yet again bid abysmally low—52% below the BMC's base price—for tenders to level roads dug by underground utility owners. Civic officials said that such low bidding will affect quality of work.

According to BMC data, all the seven contractors, one for each zone, have bid lesser than the BMC's asking rate. They have quoted 45.74% to 52.12% below the base price. The BMC has set aside Rs 20 crore for the work i each zone. It had earlier planned to ask utility owners to reinstate roads after completing their work. But last monsoon, the BMC had a tough time getting them to restore the roads. Hence, it has decided to appoint contractors to fill the trenches and reinstate roads. The proposal will be tabled for approval at the civic standing committee on Friday.

  1. BMC allots Rs 1,200 crore for road repairs this year - Indian Express

    www.indianexpress.com/news/bmc-allots-rs...road-repairs.../1108311/‎
    Apr 27, 2013 - ... Rahul Gandhi tears into Maharashtra govt for rejecting Adarsh scam report ... They will also be able to call bids for road repairs costing up to Rs 20 ... Rane at the meeting in Konkan Bhawan in Navi Mumbai on Thursday ...

  2. Crores spent, but no respite from potholes in Mumbai | NDTV.com

    www.ndtv.com › Cities‎
    Jul 11, 2013 - An early monsoon has exposed the poor quality of repairs with huge potholes on major ... But the state of Mumbai's roads speak otherwise. .... @ndtv Kerala solar scam: blockade outside Chief Minister Oommen Chandy's ...

  3. BMC sanctions Rs 500 cr extra for road repair works in Mumbai

    www.xbhp.com › Forum › News‎

Rs100 crore repair scam: Contractors get MHADA help - Mumbai ...

www.dnaindia.com › Mumbai‎
... tenders of cessed buildings. - Mumbai - dna. ... Rs100 crore repair scam: Contractors get MHADA help. Saturday, Apr 21, 2012, 9:00 IST | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA .... Bandra locals protest against road widening. Important events in ...

  1. Civic chief orders inquiry into Rs 10 crore pothole repair scam ...

    www.mumbaimirror.com › Mumbai‎
    Dec 13, 2013 - A day after Mumbai Mirror exposed a pothole repair scam in which road contractors fleeced the BMC by inflating the size of potholes assigned ...

  2. Oppn demands probe in pothole scam - Mumbai Mirror

    www.mumbaimirror.com › Mumbai‎
    Dec 21, 2013 - A day after Mumbai Mirror exposed the pothole repair scam in which road contractors fleeced BMC by inflating the size of potholes assigned to ...

  3. Pot-hole in your wallet - Mumbai Mirror

    www.mumbaimirror.com › Mumbai‎
    Dec 12, 2013 - The scam points to the involvement of BMC employees too, as the size ... Once a pothole was reported, the concerned road engineer assigned it to a contractor. ... For calculating the cost of repairing a pothole, the craters were ...

  4. Contractors uploaded same photo for different potholes - Mumbai ...

    www.mumbaimirror.com › Mumbai‎
    Dec 18, 2013 - Several contractors used the same pic of one repaired pothole, while ... the BMC's Roads Department, into the Rs 10 crore pothole size scam, ...

    SCAMSLEAK: Road Scam Of BMC: CRATER MUMBAI

    scamsleak.blogspot.com/2012/12/road-scam-of-bmc-crater-mumbai.html‎
    Dec 25, 2012 - In the report, the CAG rips apart the BMC and its roads department, which has faced intense public scrutiny for permitting poor road repair and ...

  5. Road Construction Scam: Latest News, Videos, Photos | Times of India

    timesofindia.indiatimes.com › Topics‎
    See Road Construction Scam Latest News, Photos, Biography, Videos

BMC spent Rs 8cr on road repairs that were 'free' - Mumbai Mirror

www.mumbaimirror.com › Mumbai‎
Oct 22, 2013 - The city administration squandered Rs 8.44 crore of taxpayers' money by hiring a contractor to repair a stretch of SV Road even though the ...

Are only the rich allowed to party and celebrate ?" Thadani questioned.

comment:- ist of jan:2014 all MumBai police will be sleeping after night duty
who will look after the citizens?the minister in charge of police has not even recruited for vacancies in the  police force
will he again take a car and run away to his village ?if anything happens?as it happened after terrorist attack 

Naxal-hit states yet to fill 94,800 vacancies in police force | Business ...

www.business-standard.com/.../naxal-hit-states-yet-to-fill-94-800-vacanc...‎
Sanjay Jog | Mumbai. February 23, 2011 Last Updated at 00:40 IST. Naxal-hit states yet to fill 94,800 vacancies in police force ... official, who did not want to be quoted, told Business Standard: “Huge vacancies in the administrative set-up and ...

90 posts lying vacant in state police force - Indian Express

www.indianexpress.com/news/90-posts-lying...police-force/1006882/‎
Sep 24, 2012 - While the Pune Police and the Navi Mumbai Police have no vacant posts ... The state CID has six SP level posts which are yet to be filled.

Mumbai needs 1,000 more coastal cops - Hindustan Times

www.hindustantimes.com › India-news › Mumbai‎
Jul 30, 2013 - The Mumbai Sagari police station, formed after 26/11, has a sanctioned ... Sources said that a few vacancies were filled up in these police stations ... Firms in Maharashtra could be punished for no sexual offence panels ...

Exclusive: India's elite anti-terror force-NSG pays for Centre's laxity ...

indiatoday.intoday.in › India › North‎
Apr 19, 2013 - ... these vacancies may be filled by the officers of Central Armed Police ... The manpower crunch has its origin in the Army and the CAPFs not ... The sudden expansion of the NSG, with new hubs in Mumbai, ... It is learnt that government is writing to state police forces to send volunteers to the NSG and to fill ...

MumBai's first escalator[1970] and next[2014]




Mumbai's oldest escalator foot overbridge at Girgaum Chowpatty gone in 36 hours

Monday, Aug 12, 2013, 7:01 IST | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA
Civic officials oversee the demolition of the foot overbridge at Girgaum Chowpatty on Sunday.
Civic officials oversee the demolition of the foot overbridge at Girgaum Chowpatty on Sunday. - Hemant Padalkar/DNA
The city’s oldest escalator foot overbridge (FOB) at Girgaum Chowpatty was brought down partially by Sunday morning.

The remaining portion will be demolished by Monday.

Civic officials have planned the demolition of the bridge over two consecutive days, beginning Saturday, between 10pm and 6am, and traffic on the road has been diverted to other roads.

dna on August 8 had reported about the traffic police giving its go-ahead to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to carry out the demolition of the FOB. “We demolished the portion of the FOB above the road on Saturday night. The part with the staircase will be demolished tonight (Sunday night to Monday morning),” said SO Kori, chief of BMC’s bridges department.

Kori added that although the BMC had decided to demolish this FOB, it is yet to take a decision on whether to replace it with another one or construct a subway as has been suggested by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority.

The reconstruction of the FOB is part of the BMC’s plan to review and rework the city’s 261 bridges that include road overbridges, skywalks and foot overbridges.

Civic officials said the FOB was built in 1953 by the Patel Trust and the escalator, which was installed in the 1970s, is believed to be the first in India in a public place.

“To demolish the bridge, we are using the same technique that was used to bring down the Lalbaug flyover in 2009,” said a senior official. He added that a combi crusher is being used for the demolition as it operates with minimum noise.

Saturday, December 21, 2013



Cricketers reach the ground on a mini bus in the ‘30s.

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

planning to re-route a couple of night flights originally scheduled for Mumbai airport to Kolhapur


AAI planning flexible use of Kolhapur airport

TNN | Dec 11, 2013, 03.04 AM IST
READ MORE KOLHAPUR AIRPORT|Airports Authority of India|travel by air
KOLHAPUR: The Airports Authority of India (AAI) is considering introduction of night landing facilities at Kolhapur airport, a facility that can bring in additional air services to the city.

The AAI is preparing a plan to use the airport for parking a couple of aircraft to reduce the congestion at Mumbai and Pune airports, said officials associated with the development.

"We are working over ways to see if there can be multiple use of the Kolhapur airport. We are planning to re-route a couple of night flights originally scheduled for Mumbai airport to Kolhapur. The flights will reach Mumbai and then carry Kolhapur-bound passengers to the city at night. The plane will be parked in Kolhapur and it will leave the airport next morning with Mumbai-bound passengers," said an official, who however did not wish to be identified.

Officials said the plan "is tentative but viable" as the flyers from Kolhapur can have a continuous service immediately. "We are waiting for the licence to commence the operation. Once we receive the licence, we can undertake work such as expansion of the airstrip. However, our immediate focus will be to complete the night landing facility," an official said.

The state government had in August this year handed over the airport at Ujalaiwadi from the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) to the AAI. Ashok Patil, the regional officer of MIDC, Kolhapur, said the formalities for the transer have been completed and at present the airport is with AAI.

"We have informally discussed several plans to revive the air service to Kolhapur. We have given some suggestions. However, it is AAI's mandate now to go for the feasible solutions," said Patil, adding that night landing and extension of airstrip would be the AAI's first priority. There are other plans on the radar, he said.

Business experts feel that the lack of airport has become the hurdle for the further growth of Kolhapur. New industries and sectors like information and technology are based on the connectivity, experts said.

"Cities developed in past two decades by exploring opportunities made available through air connectivity. Kolhapur has infrastructure and talent. It also has good data connectivity; but lags behind in air connectivity. The advantage of geographical location of this city can be utilized once the airport starts operating," said Kulbhushan Birnale, president of the Converse International Network, an institute working as networking platform for industries.

Lack of an airport in Kolhapur was a major drawback for the growth of the industrial sector in the region. Industrial units at Kagal MIDC, many of them with a turnover of over Rs 50 crore, have collaboration with multinational companies. Foreign delegates, who regularly visit Kagal, have to travel by air till Pune or Mumbai and then take the road route to reach Kolhapur. The airport in Kolhapur will help them reach the city faster and in turn increase the business engagements.

Industrialists are hopeful that the pending demand will materialize soon and the city will have more flights.

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Film StillPadma Devi :
The Color Queen Film India,
December 1937



Monday, December 2, 2013


Given space crunch, is landfill in sea the answer?

,TNN | Dec 2, 2013, 05.00 AM IST

READ MORE New York|Mumbai Transformation Support Unit|Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation
MUMBAI: Should Mumbai consider an offshore landfill given the space crunch in the city and the strong opposition to dumping grounds from residents who live in their vicinity? Some experts believe in the idea, while others think it is a misstep.

Dr Ir Frans HM van de Ven of the Netherlands-based institute Deltares, which conducts applied research in the field of water, subsurface and infrastructure, said the state should tap into the unutilised sea. "The Not In My Backyard sentiment to landfills is very strong around the world. Mumbai should utilise its sea for creating recreation parks and surface water reservoirs. Since land is in short supply, it could even consider an island for a landfill." He was in the city recently for the mega-city conference organised by the NGO Mumbai First and the state government.

Singapore's only landfill site is located on the Semakau islands; it is filled mainly with ash produced from the country's incineration plants. A similar proposal was made by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation in 2003, but the idea was shot down.

Mumbai Transformation Support Unit officials said the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification, 2011, is so stringent that it would not allow an offshore landfill.

Environmentalists in the city feel that instead of building dumping grounds in the sea, Mumbai's authorities should consider a zero garbage policy. "It is happening in cities across the world, be it New York or Paris. Landfills are no longer accepted as a solution to waste problems," said environmentalist Rishi Agarwal.

MSRDC plans coastal road from Versova to Virar | Property Pulse ...

content.magicbricks.com › Property News › Mumbai real estate news‎
Aug 25, 2011 - Mumbai In a fresh amendment to the city's road plans, the proposed 10-km ... MSRDC has estimated the cost of the 54-km Versova-Virar coastal road to be around Rs 4,000 crore. ..... Affordable housing: Rs 20 lakh homes.





















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Radiation expert to take stock of cell tower sites

,TNN | Dec 2, 2013, 04.39 AM IST
READ MORE WHO|Michael Repacholi|World Health Organisation|The Who
MUMBAI: Radiation specialist Michael Repacholi will take stock of a few cell tower sites in the city on Monday and interact with medical experts on their effect on health.

Repacholi, who headed the radiation task force at the World Health Organisation (WHO), is visiting the city at a time when activists have been alleging health hazards from mobile towers. While activists like Prakash Munshi say that the presence of cell towers pose health risks to the citizens, Cellular Operators Association of India refutes this claim.

COAI director-general Rajan S Mathews claimed that despite cellular operators following all the norms laid down by WHO and the government of India, certain "misconceptions" were being propagated about cellphones and mobile towers.

On Monday, Repacholi will release a book on mobile phones and radiation. Repacholi was a founding member and chaired the International Non-Ionizing Radiation Committee. He was also coordinator of the radiation and environmental health unit of the WHO and headed the International Advisory Committee of the EMF (electro-magnetic field) project of the WHO till 2006.

Tuesday, November 26, 2013


Food licensing goes online in Maharashtra

,TNN | Nov 27, 2013, 05.34 AM IST
AURANGABAD: The Maharashtra Food and Drugs Administration's (FDA) system saw an online launch on November 22, equipped with software for processing applications for food and beverage licensing. With this smart turn towards the Internet, heaped files at FDA offices will now be history.

"The FDA has gone online from November 22, all over the state. The status of hoteliers, traders and food joints who had earlier registered with the FDA and the food business operators who have procured licences according to the Food and Safety Act 2006, will be uploaded on the website www.fssai.gov.in," said Chandrashekhar Salunke, FDA joint commissioner (Food), Aurangabad division.

Salunkhe said that one can now apply for registration and licences at the click of a mouse. "This would help speed up the process and maintain complete clarity and smoother functioning on both sides throughout the process," Salunkhe told a news conference on Tuesday.

FDA assistant commissioner (Food), Aurangabad division, M D Shah said, "As per the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) 2006, food business operators need to apply for renewal norms for licences one month before the expiry date."

"An operator would procure his/her licence within 60 days{why 60 days?why not 6days?delay may increase corruption} of the online application. Moreover, operators can also check the status of applications online and will receive alerts regarding renewal date and licence status," Shah said.

"Till now, 8,185 registrations and 4,365 licences have been issued manually in Aurangabad district. All these records will soon be available online. Food business operators with business worth less than Rs 12 lakh per annum have to register themselves with the FDA and if the annual business is more than Rs12 lakh, they have to obtain a licence from the FDA," said Shah.

No takers for 1.3 lakh flats in Mumbai, says report

,TNN | Nov 27, 2013, 05.29 AM IST
READ MORE Knight Frank India|Realty market|economy|flats in Mumbai
MUMBAI: The city's residential market is in dire straits with 1.30 lakh unsold flats, while another 2.90 lakh homes are under construction, reveals a report.

A Knight Frank India Mumbai realty market research report released on Tuesday said the unsold inventory level in the Mumbai metropolitan region is almost 44%. Around 47,488 apartments were launched between January and September, a considerable 28% drop compared to last year.

Due to the weakening demand, the residential market will require over two years to exhaust the existing unsold inventory, the report stated. Shishir Baijal, chairman and managing director of Knight Frank said the rise in interest cost and decline in net profits during 2013 will compel developers to lighten inventory load and deleverage their balance sheets.

"Demand however, is likely to remain subdued over the initial part of 2014 as the market continues to bottom out against the backdrop of a sluggish economy," he added. The launch of new residential projects plummeted over 40% compared to peak levels in 2010. Approximately 47,488 units were launched during the January-September 2013 period; a considerable 28% drop compared to last year.

Interestingly, 34% of the projects were launched in Ambernath, Bhiwandi, Mumbra and Karjat. About 19% projects commenced in the Virar-Palghar stretch, 18% in Navi Mumbai, 10% in Bandra, Andheri, Goregaon, and a measly one per cent in south Mumbai. "The Navi Mumbai story lost some momentum as its share of units launched dropped 18% in 2013 from 22% last year. Inordinate delays in the execution of major infrastructure projects such as the new airport and Trans-Harbour link coupled with comparatively dearer inventory have caused a lull in market activity," the report mentioned. It predicts that a price correction is on the anvil as there are no takers for premium projects. "Developers are looking to tap into the largest chunk of buyers seeking apartments priced up to Rs 75 lakh. An estimated 74% of units under construction today are targeted at this price,'' it said.

"In a bid to liquidate their higher priced inventory, developers have been open to in the premium segment, to reduce prices up to a maximum of 25% in favour of a sizeable up-front payment," said the report. For instance, prices in some south and central Mumbai locations like Parel and Mahalaxmi have declined close to 10% over the previous three quarters. "Unsold inventory pressure in Mumbai is the highest among all other cities and is depicting a growing trend. We expect a more pronounced price correction which may drive the market to a better equilibrium," said Samantak Das, chief economist, director- research and advisory services, Knight Frank India.

Friday, November 22, 2013

SC orders elite Willingdon club to take BMC's eating house licence

,TNN | Nov 23, 2013, 02.31 AM IST
READ MORE Willingdon Club|Supreme Court|Willingdon Sports Club|Sports|Badminton
MUMBAI: Putting to rest a two-decade-old dispute, the Supreme Court earlier this week ruled that the elite Willingdon Sports Club has to obtain a BMC 'eating house' licence for the food its serves its members.

A division bench of Justices G S Singhvi and V Gopala Gowda struck down a Bombay high court verdict and gave the club four weeks to apply. It added that the BMC was free to impose penalty on the institution for failing to take a licence and asked the club to shell out Rs 50,000 as litigation cost.

The order is likely to have a cascading effect on other exclusive clubs in the city, mainly requiring them to apply to the BMC for an eating house license.

"The object of incorporating the requirement of a licence for an 'eating house' or 'catering establishment' is to ensure that public hygiene is maintained at the place/premises where the food is prepared and/or supplied for consumption. It is also intended to ensure safety of the people engaged in the preparation of food and supply thereof as well as all those who consume the articles at the particular place/premises," said the judges.

Willingdon club had argued that it did not need the license because its main activity is providing sporting facilities to its members, and the catering facilities were incidental. It added that its services were exclusively for its members and not for the general public.

The Bombay high court in 2009 upheld this contention and ruled that the club was not required to take an eating house license.

The apex court, hearing a BMC appeal, did not agree. It said the club's catering facilities fell within the definition of eating house in the BMC Act and members of the club came within the term "public".

"No doubt the primary activity of the club is to provide sporting facilities to the members, but the supply of food is an integral part of such activity and the catering department of the club satisfies an essential component of the facilities provided by the club," said the judges.

"Not only this, many join the club in the name of availing sporting facilities only for the purpose of spending their time in leisure and for enjoying the facilities provided by the catering department of the club. Thus, even though profit may not be the motto of catering facilities provided by Willingdon Club, it certainly gains by these facilities," the court added.

The dispute goes back to 1990 when the BMC asked the club to get the licence. 
 
Letters passed between the corporation and the club, and the later also deposited Rs 2.7 lakh. In 1999, the BMC insisted on the licence and asked it to pay a further Rs 1.2 lakh. The club challenged the notice in the high court and won the first round before the SC accepted the BMC view.

New cluster plan to include illegal flats

,TNN | Nov 23, 2013, 02.32 AM IST
READ MORE cluster redevelopment|Amin Patel
MUMBAI: Occupants of unauthorized flats and shops will be legally rehabilitated as part of the state government new cluster redevelopment policy. Critics said this sop is a virtual indictment of the government, which has failed to curb illegal constructions.

TOI has learnt that the government plans to offer rehabilitation area of 250 sq ft to 700 sq ft premises to all such occupants.

These residents will have to bear the cost of construction and there will be no incentive for the developer for rehabilitating them, said sources.

Congress MLA Amin Patel from South Mumbai who has the maximum number of old and dilapidated buildings in his constituency said the government has to accept that there has been a systemic failure. " "We cannot throw them out. Where will they go? We need to rehabilitate else the planned development of the city cannot happen,'' he said. The Campa Cola society is a glaring example of the systemic failure.

The cluster redevelopment policy was formulated post-2005 floods when a number of old and dilapidated buildings crashed. The state government then decided to take up block redevelopment rather than single buildings that were resulting in a very skewed development of the city. However, the 2009 policy did not find many takers and now the government is drawing up a fresh policy to replace the earlier one. This is likely to apply across the city.

Like in case of slum-dwellers, here too there will be a cut-off date. "The debate is should it be January 1, 1995 as for all slums or January 1, 2000 as for slums on land meant for vital projects like Dharavi, the airport and the Mumbai Urban Transport Project or should it be 2011 wherein slum-dwellers who have bought pre-1995 structures as late as 2011 are to be considered eligible on payment of a transfer fee.''

Sources said the new cluster redevelopment policy was submitted to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Thursday by the urban development department. "It is likely that he may approve it by Saturday,'' said sources.

Amongst the incentives of residents is a minimum rehab flat of 323 sq feet or 30 sq metres if the cluster rehabilitation is limited to one acre. "But if it is a mega-cluster then depending on the size of the plot the incentive will go up by 10%, 15% to a maximum of 25%. Along with fungible fsi, the flat size can go up to 545 sq feet,'' said sources.

The government will also relax the condition on property ownership for redevelopment from 100% to 70% . Similarly 70% of tenants will need to give consent. Patel who had proposed the change said the government has conveyed it will accept the proposal.

Unlike the old policy where the government had no role to play in land acquisition, under the new policy it will step in and aid in acquiring the remaining 30% of land.

The BMC as planning authority will draw the boundaries of each cluster thereby ensuring that the city gets its infrastructure and public amenities. The cluster redevelopment will be detailed in a Urban Renewal Scheme master plan along with the civic Development Plan and a comprehensive plan for every cluster. Each of these plans have to merge into each other so that there is planned development of the city, said sources.

Once the Mumbai plan is approved the governme
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