BMC Clears Plan to Merge Lower Parel Plots with SRA Scheme for Redevelopment
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is set to amalgamate its land in Lower Parel with an ongoing Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) scheme to facilitate integrated redevelopment. The civic improvements committee cleared the proposal on August 13.
The plots, situated around N M Joshi Marg and Pandurang Budhkar Marg in Lower Parel, will be clubbed with the Shri Sai Sunder Nagar Co-operative Housing Society Ltd SRA scheme, alongside other societies and plots in Lower Parel and Mahim. The proposal was jointly submitted by developers Vrinda Enterprises Pvt Ltd and Skylark Buildcon Pvt Ltd and forwarded by the SRA to the municipal commissioner.
The overall amalgamated scheme spans an estimated 1,09,220.10 square metres, with the BMC-owned component accounting for 25 per cent of the total area. The move follows directions issued by the state urban development department on July 3 last year under Regulation 33(10) of the Development Control and Promotion Rules (DCPR), allowing public authority plots to be merged with SRA schemes within the same administrative ward to generate Project Affected Persons (PAP) housing and amenities.
Several municipal facilities currently occupy the BMC land, including a municipal school, a municipal chowky, the G South Ward office, and the Shantabai Hule municipal market, while a reserved garden and playground plot is partly covered by slum-like structures. Under the approved terms, the developers must reconstruct all these municipal facilities at the maximum permissible FSI under DCPR 2034 and hand them over to the BMC free of cost. The developers must also arrange alternative sites for these facilities at their own expense during the redevelopment period.
The construction cost of the civic facilities is estimated at approximately ₹114.27 crore. The BMC is also expected to receive a 25 per cent land premium of roughly ₹35.13 crore and approximately 189 PAP tenements free of cost. The proposal notes that if the SRA permits an FSI above 4.0, additional potential can be utilised for more PAP tenements, with corresponding incentive FSI granted to the developer.
To retain ownership, the BMC has mandated that plots housing the school, chowky, and ward office—measuring 8,994.05 square metres—will remain civic property, with mutation entries finalized before an occupation certificate is issued. Future cooperative housing society residents will be granted an initial 30-year lease on the municipal land.
Congress group leader in the BMC, Ashraf Azmi, opposed the decision, alleging that the deal favoured private builders at a loss to the civic body and arguing that the BMC should receive land of equivalent value instead of surrendering prime plots. In response, a senior SRA official stated that planning would strictly follow urban development department directions to generate additional PAP housing and an organized layout.
