BMC to introduce new policy for development of ‘iconic buildings' in city

Indian Express

5 hours ago

Eyeing to promote world-class architecture in the city, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has charted plans to introduce a new policy which will pave the way for the development of 'iconic buildings' in Mumbai.
On Tuesday, the civic body invited suggestions and objections from citizens to its proposal to modify the prevailing Development Control and Promotion Regulation (DCPR) 2034 to introduce a new regulation – 33(27).
While the public can send in their suggestions and objections over a period of one month, the proposal has drawn flak from a section of activists.
Earlier in March, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had announced plans for iconic buildings in Mumbai, following which the urban development department had proposed a new chapter in the DCPR in 2034.
In a bid to make the provision, the BMC on Tuesday floated the proposal to introduce a new regulation — 33 (27) — which pertains to the development of 'iconic buildings'.
According to the proposal, a building or a premises will be eligible to be deemed 'iconic' if they have 'unique and distinctive characteristics' owing to their shape, size, aesthetics, look, concept, theme, architectural or structural design among others.
As per the clauses, no residential building will be eligible for the category with at least 40 per cent of the building remaining open to the public through some fee-based system.
The proposals for a building's iconic status will be approved by a six-member scrutiny committee, which will be lead by the civic municipal commissioner, and comprise famed members from the global architectural field, visual art, a leading personality from the business industry as well as the director of the Town Planning in Maharashtra and the Chief Engineer of the Development Plan BMC's development plan department.
Once enforced, the scrutiny committee will inspect the proposal and then submit the proposal to the government body for principal approval.
According to officials, the project proponent of a private property who submits their bid for the iconic status will be mandated to have a minimum of 1 million sqm of BUA completed or have a minimum turnover of Rs 5,000 crore per year in the last three financial years.
Speaking to The Indian Express, senior officials said that the objective of the proposal is to elevate Mumbai's existing skyline by creating new points of attraction. 'The proposal has been initiated by the government of Maharashtra while the BMC issued the notification for modification. Across the globe, we see many iconic buildings with towers that have viewing points and public spaces like malls,' said a BMC official.
However, activists including Godfrey Pimenta have alleged that the definition of 'iconic buildings' remains very vague. Writing to the chief engineer of the Development Plan department in BMC, Pimenta wrote, 'The state government has retained power to grant additional FSI on payment of premium at a rate of 50% of land rate. Mischievously there is no cap as to how much FSI can be granted by state government. We have strong reasons to believe that the new Regulation is tailor-made to suit the requirements of few pre-determined developers.'