Mumbai slumdwellers, high-rise residents protest new civic rules

Slumdwellers and residents of skyscrapers protested against the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's proposed new development plan (DP) and development control rules (DCR) at Azad Maidan here on Monday.

The civic corporation's new proposal has kicked up a raging controversy among all sections, political parties and the general public as it has created confusion and uncertainties in the minds of the masses, said Maharashtra Societies Welfare Association (MSWA) spokesperson Sunil Sharma.

"A lot of anxious people have been inquiring with us about the ramifications of the proposed DP and DCR, seeking clarifications and wanting to know how they would be affected," Sharma said at the protest meeting. An awareness programme has also been launched to inform people about the BMC proposal, said Ramesh Prabhu, chairman of the Affordable Housing Welfare Organisations of India (AHWOI), which jointly carried out the protest with MSWA.

The programme would inform people on the impact of the BMC proposal on the people of the city at various places, the issues affecting slum rehabilitation, regularisation of transfer documents, tenanted premises and cluster development, cessed buildings, MHADA (Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority) buildings, fungible floor space index (FSI), he said.

"Under the proposed DP and DCR till 2034, there are many discrepancies and restrictions on use of FSI which would render slum rehabilitation as unviable, besides reduction of other facilities that were given earlier, charging huge premium which would make housing unaffordable," Prabhu pointed out. The protesters have demanded scrapping of the proposed DP and DCR by the BMC, which has also been severely criticised by all political parties in the state.