Truth about 4 FSI in Gaothan Areas of Navi Mumbai

Recently, the Govt of Maharashtra gave a Green Signal to the proposal of 4 FSI in Gaothan Areas of Navi Mumbai. FSI is the amount of construction legally permitted on a plot of land. In Navi Mumbai, the current FSI is 1.5 (Max) for 99% of the areas. For the remaining 1% of tender plots, the FSI is just 1. So basically, if the Area of the plot is a 100 square meters, one is allowed to construct a building measuring 150 square meters of Built-Up area. This 150 square meters does not include areas like the lift, staircase, common passages, meter room, pump room, lift room etc.

FSI is very very important in determining the strain, load and quality of life in a given area. The more the FSI, the more the population living in a given area, the more the crowd, the more the traffic, the more the stress on civic services like drainage, parking etc.

But this FSI rule has been blatantly flouted in the Gaothan areas (areas in every node where the original inhabitants of Navi Mumbai illegally squatted on govt when their land was taken over by the Govt in 1970’s). Over a period of time, The villagers in connivance with local leaders and Municipal officials turned this Gaothan area into a hotbed of illegal construction by constructing full fledged housing complexes on the plots meant for their personal residence, throwing all rules into the dustbin and turning these areas into concrete jungles with nobody to answer to. Many a times these buildings collapsed and caused casualties too..but the problem persisted as nobody wanted to kill the golden goose which laid a lot of eggs for the local politicians and municipal officers along with the villagers who constructed buildings and sold flats at dirt cheap rates to gullible buyers.

A demolished illegal building

After many years of delay, the govt recently announced a scheme whereby all illegal constructions which have consumed upto 4 FSI would be ‘legalized’.
Most people think that this decision means that Gaothan areas will now become a builder’s paradise where huge buildings (high rises) will be constructed and flats sold to buyers. However this is far from the truth.

In reality this scheme will only …

• Legalize the constructions which came up before December 2012.
• It will not change the FSI rules applicable in Navi Mumbai Gaothan areas in any way .
• No highrises will be permitted in Gaothan Areas .
• Structures which have consumed more than 4 FSI will still face action.
• Any structures with more than the allowed FSI ( 1 or 1.5) that come up henceforth after 2012 will be demolished.
• The FSI rules already incorporated in the GDCR (General Development Control Regulations) of Navi Mumbai are still valid and have to be complied by all.

The next time someone tells you about the goldmine of 4 FSI in Gaothan areas, remember what you read here.

Joint owner not liable to pay Tax if no amount paid from his/her account for purchase of property

The Mumbai Income Tax Appellate Tribunal has ruled that Joint owners of properties by mere name cannot be held liable for Tax liabilities if the purchase of the property was not financed by him/her. Many people/couples purchase flats/properties in Joint names for convenience and security sake, but the money is paid entirely by one of the parties.

The order was given in the case of a Medical Professional named Vandana Bulchandani.

An Income tax officer had determined that Bulchandani had not disclosed Capital Gains via sale of property in Parel, Mumbai, worth 2.12 crores, which she jointly owned with her husband in the year 2008-2009. But Bulchandani claimed that the property purchase was financed entirely via money from her husbands account and that he had offset the capital gains against the loss in share trading.

As per IT rules, short term capital gains can be offset against loss from share sales in the same financial year.

The case was referred to the Tribunal and it ruled in favor of Bulchandani and her husband.

'Builder' couple cheats home buyers in Turbhe

In another instance of cheating, a builder couple named Rafiq Solanki (50 yrs) and his wife Mehrunissa Solanki (45 yrs ) have absconded after taking 8-10 lakhs from flat buyers who were promised flats in a 7 storied building that the couple promised to construct in Sector 22 of Turbhe Village. The couple is alleged to have purchased a plot from a Project Affected Person (PAP) in sector 22 (Turbhe) and started construction in 2010. They showed a forged CC (Commencement Certificate) to buyers and accepted booking amounts ranging from 8 to 10 lakhs for flats in a 7 storied building, but when the final structure was completed, it had only 4 floors. The people who had booked flats from the 5th to the 7th floor were left high and dry. Finally on 2nd July, seven of them lodged FIRs at the Turbhe Police station under section 465,468,471,420 etc. It may help to point out that most buildings constructed in Gaothan areas are illegal and the High Court has issued orders for their demolition.

Illegal building being demolished in Seawoods, Nerul

The Maharashtra state govt has decided to formulate a blanket Amnesty scheme for all illegal structures in Maharashtra that were constructed before 2015. But that policy has yet to be formulated. Besides that, the policy will have to be submitted to the High Court for approval and only then will it be implemented. Also, it is sure to be challenged in the Supreme Court for validity. So the chance of that policy succeeding is slim.

It may help to point out that just Digha alone has more than 100 illegal buildings constructed on MIDC land. Each of these buildings have flats which were sold cheap to buyers by local officials, corporators etc, in violation of all rules, thereby minting 100s of crores in the process. 3 NCP Corporators have already lost their positions and have been barred from the Municipal Corporation by the no nonsense Municipal Commissioner of Navi Mumbai Tukaram Munde who assumed charge just 3 months ago.

An online list of Commencement Certificates (CC) is also available at the NMMC Website, where buyers can check the validity of all documents of any project. Some projects may not be listed on the website and may require personal verification from the Town Planning office located on the 3rd floor of the new NMMC headquarters at Nerul. NMMC has also instructed the Registrars office not to register any sale agreement without a Commencement Certificate but to no avail.

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