The Times of India              03.10.2013 

Mayor to seek change in development plan norms during visit to CM

NASHIK: City mayor Yatin Wagh on Wednesday said he would seek chief minister (CM) Prithviraj Chavan to make necessary amendments in the development plan (DP) manual of the state government when Wagh meets him on Thursday in Mumbai.

The DP of the municipal corporations in Maharashtra is chalked out as per the guidelines in the DP manual 1962 of the state government. The officials concerned follow the guidelines of the DP manual while chalking out the DP of the particular manual. But amendments have not yet been made in the DP manual so far.

Wagh said, "We are meeting CM Prithviraj Chavan to hand him over the resolution of the general body meeting (GBM) of the NMC concerning the cancellation of the draft DP of the city and to extend the time limit to make a fresh DP by the government official under the guidance of the municipal commissioner. We will also urge the CM to update and make necessary amendments in its DP manual and other concerned laws as per the current scenario, since the laws have not been updated for the past many yearsThere is a need to check whether the laws are applicable in today's scenario."

He further said," There is a need to check norms considering the population density while projecting the population growth when chalking out the DP of the city."

He, however, avoided divulging more details concerning the issue.

"There is a DP manual of the state government. The officials concerned prepare the draft of the DP of the municipal corporations in the state as per the guidelines of the DP manual, According to which, the population density can't be projected more than 250 persons per hectare while making the development plans of the city. The residential areas need to be increased as per the standard measurement of density of population. There is still no amendment in the DP manual concerning that," a senior government official from the town planning department, on the condition of anonymity, told TOI.

After an expiry of the DP in 2010, the state government had set up a special DP unit to chalk out the new DP of the city for the next 25 years, projecting population growth of 34 lakh by 2036 from 14 lakh as per the 2011 census. As per the population density of the 250 persons per hectare, the residential areas were increased from existing 5,875.36 hectares to 13,851 hectares in the new DP to accommodate the projected population. It means, 7,975.64 hectares were added in the residential areas to accommodate the additional projected population of 20 lakh people. For that, agriculture areas were converted into yellow zone (residential), thereby reducing the green belt from existing 9,036.49 hectares to just 4,039.83 hectares.

Speaking to TOI, a builder said, "One floor space index (FSI) is applicable in the city. The construction areas of one lakh sq ft can be made in one hectare land with around 175 flats of 500 sq ft to 700 sq ft areas. Around 150 families with a population of 750 to 800 can be accommodated in these areas. Twenty to 30 years back, the growth of the city was horizontal as maximum residential structures were in the form of tenements, separate houses or bungalows. But today, the maximum height permissible is up to 40 m, which accommodates around 12-storey buildings with stilt. The proposal of the civic administration to increase the height of the buildings to 45 m is pending with the state government for approval. It means, the density of population of the city has definitely increased and will go more than 500 persons per hectare as the city develops in future."

President of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Association Nashik, Kiran Chavan said, "All the laws concerning the DP have become outdated; there is a need to update them after studying other developed cities of the world like London and Singapore.

The density of population should not be considered while chalking out the DP. Instead of 25 years, the DP of a city should be made keeping in mind the next 100 years. Accordingly, the plans of roads, residential zones and other amenities should be made. An internal level consultant should be appointed while chalking out such plans.

Moreover, we must insist for the town planning (TP) scheme instead. The municipal corporation concerned will get 40% of the land free of cost if the TP scheme is implemented."