Weeks after WAVES, BMC proposes formalising construction of temporary sets of films and serials in Mumbai

Indian Express

16-05-2025

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on May 16 issued a notification to amend Mumbai's Development Control and Promotion Regulations (DCPR) 2034, allowing temporary constructions of sets for films, TV serials, and advertisements in Mumbai. The civic body's move comes two weeks after Mumbai hosted the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES) in a bid to position India as a global powerhouse in the fields of media and global innovation.
Also, earlier this month, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced that the Centre will construct a film studio on a 240-acre plot in the Malad area of the western suburbs.
Earlier in 2022, Mumbai's then municipal commissioner, Iqbal Singh Chahal, had also initiated an inquiry into the unauthorized construction of film studios at the Madh, Marve and Erangal areas in the western suburbs in Mumbai. Chahal had then stated that there were film studios being built on thousands of square metres of land that falls under the Maharashtra Coastal Zonal Management Authority (MCZMA).
Later in January 2023, the civic authorities demolished 11 illegal studios in that area.
The DCPR 2034 is the BMC's formal rulebook based on which the BMC will be carrying out town planning till 2034. It is based on the DCPR the civic authorities will reserve land parcels and will carry out infrastructure development. The existing DCPR will again get revised post 2034.
Civic officials said that while in DCPR 2034 there was no provision of allowing temporary structures of film sets in Mumbai, the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations, 2020 (UDCPR) rules allowed construction of structures in Maharashtra. The UDCPR is a similar set of guidelines like DCPR which is applicable in every other city in the state other than Mumbai.
'In 2019, we (BMC) had allowed establishments of temporary structures in Mumbai's plots. However, these rules led to the construction of structures in No Development Zones (NDZ), violating the environmental rules,' a civic official said.
'The revised guidelines will formally reserve plots where such structures could be set up, so that the open spaces and available land parcels in Mumbai aren't misused. In a way, the authorities will also have a record on the number of production houses that would be using these plots for setting up film sets,' the official said.
'The absence of regulation/definition for the activity of construction of temporary studios/sets for the shooting of films/TV/serials/advertisements makes it unable to move further to permit such activities and to formulate any circular. Therefore, it is necessary to incorporate the additional activity/formation in the regulation no. 57 of DCPR 2034, titled 'Temporary Structures,' the BMC's notice states. The notice also stated that the amendment has been proposed under the Mumbai Regional Town Planning (MRTP) Act.
Furthermore, the official said that operating a film set involves a slew of civic permissions like fire NOCs, and often the owners bypass these permissions as the land parcels are not formally reserved by the authorities.