The Times of India 22.09.2010
BMC can now charge premium on lifts and lobbies
MUMBAI: The BMC can now charge 25% of the market ready reckoner rate (RRR) as premium for lifts, staircases and lobbies that are not counted as part of the floor space index (FSI).
FSI is the ratio of the total built-up area to the size of the plot. In June this year, the Bombay high court, in a judgment, held that the BMC did not have the authority to levy premium or collect any such amount in the absence of such provisions in the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning (MRTP) Act or Development Control Regulations. The order was delivered in a petition filed by a builder challenging the BMC’s authority to charge such a premium when neither the MRTP nor the DCR rules allowed for it.
On Tuesday, governor K Sankaranarayanan signed an ordinance amending Section 22 (M) of the MRTP, allowing municipal corporations to levy a premium for allowing extra FSI in case of hospitals, hotels and educational institutions, premium for concession in relaxation of marginal spaces and for not computing lifts, staircases and lobbies in the building FSI.
T C Benjamin, principal secretary, urban development said the BMC can charge 10% of the RRR as premium for marginal spaces, 25% of the RRR as premium for hotels, 2.5% for educational institutions and 5% for hospitals. Last year, the BMC earned Rs 400 crore in revenue from premium for lifts etc, Rs 400 crore for additional FSI (including 0.33 FSI for the suburbs) and Rs 100 crore for concessions in marginal spaces.
