Suncity said:
I just read that the NTC mill land auction have been put off due to "public controversy" about their proposed usage by "activists". I think I posted something in the Mumbai thread. Don't know if that affects this project.
Here's some news about the NTC mill redevlopment in Mumbai:
Panel set up to oversee mill land development
GURBIR SINGH
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, JANUARY 13, 2005 07:27:23 AM]
MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government has decided to set up a high power committee to examine the development of the island city in the context of the sell-off and redevelopment of land belonging to National Textile Corporation (NTC) and other private mills.
However, a decision has been taken not to roll back the amended Section 58 of the Development Control Regulations (DCR) promulgated in ‘01 to redefine the area to be surrendered by mills for public purposes and open spaces.
Instead, the high power committee will examine implementation of various ‘midway’ proposals such as keeping one-third of the mill area for open spaces, while allowing developers to load on (transfer) the FSI (development rights) of the open space onto high rise buildings.
The committee will also look to provide a master plan for the development of central Mumbai and the mill area that will give a contiguous geographical precinct connecting the various mills, a senior Mantralaya official said.
Citing an example, the official said: “Between Bombay Dyeing Mills and Century Mills that share a common boundary, is 28 acres of land that require to be developed as part of one integrated plan.”
A public controversy was triggered after eminent architect Charles Correa, former municipal commissioner Jamshed Kanga and others recently approached Congress president Sonia Gandhi and wrote to Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh complaining that the mill development norms in the city were causing over-crowding, haphazard planning, and killing open spaces.
As a backlash of this controversy, the first phase of NTC’s auction of 5 mill lands seems to have ground to a halt. The files awaiting Union textile minister Shankar Sinh Vaghela’s final clearance continue to gather dust in New Delhi despite clearances from the state government and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Developers intending to enter the NTC auction process may also be wary of committing their money if the rules for redevelopment of mill lands are subject to constant review, a senior planner with the NTC told ET.
Pressure from mill owners eager to exploit surplus mill land led to DCR 58(1)(b) of the Maharashtra Regional & Town Planning Act being amended.
In the format before ‘01, mills wanting to exploit their land commercially had to surrender one-third to the public housing body, MHADA, while another one-third came to the BMC for developing gardens and open spaces.
This left only one-third for real estate exploitation by the mill owners.
With only one mill — Matulya Mills — coming forward under this development route, the government relaxed the provision and amended DCR 58 (1)(b) to exclude ‘existing structures’ (even if they were demolished as part of the development) from the land calculations. Therefore, the portions that are allotted for public housing and open spaces is calculated only after deducting the land occupied by existing buildings and structures.
This method of calculating what goes to the BMC and for public housing often left only 20% or even less of the total mill land area, making a mockery of the provision, point out those spearheading the demand for a rollback of DCR 58. The change was also made surreptitiously to benefit mill owners and developers, it is argued.
On the other hand, a mill owners’ representative pointed out that the amendment to the mill land sale provision was made only after inviting objections and giving a public hearing. As many as 44 objections were raised and heard before the amendment was made, the representative said.
The mill official also opposed changes in DCR 58 at this stage as developers had raised debt and entered into third party agreements based on existing provisions.
“As many as 14 mills have been allowed to develop under the amended DCR 58. It will be discriminatory to the others if we pull back now,” a senior government official said.
Speaking to ET, Charles Correa clarified that his target was not DCR 58, but the way the development of mill lands was taking place. “Land was required for hospitals, schools, transit housing and for slum clearance. If mill development does not give back to the city in equal measure, the city will suffer,” he said.
He also supported comprehensive and integrated development that will pool mill lands along with surplus railway and port land.
While Mr Correa seemed amenable to settle for something short of a total repeal of the DCR amendments, other activists seem to be girding their loins for another round of PILs on the issue.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/988965.cms
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My take on this: the govt should once and for all define the rules and then stop contantly reviewing and changing them. They should leave enough land for infrastructure development, development of green zones, develop land use regulation, and then sell it off. This constant reviewing and changing is just going to scare investors off, and everytime a commitee comes out with recommendations, either the "activists" or the real estate developers are unhappy and file PILs and stop the process again. The freeing up of all this land in Mumbai is a huge chance for the city to go in for planned development that will really set Mumbai up for future growth, and they shouldn't let this go. I like the idea of one big master plan for the re-development of the entire mills land in Mumbai that takes into account all variables like infrastructure, environment, etc, istead of the bits-and-pieces development thats happening right now.