Developers' body seeking relaxation in purchasing TDRs from the Adani Group project in Dharavi.

CREDAI-MCHI has requested a higher FSI and a reduction in the premiums paid to the government to finance the purchase of TDR from the Dharavi Development Project.

Mumbai property news: The Adani Group was named the winner of the Maharashtra government's redevelopment project in 2022. Following this, the Congress party accused the BJP of lowering regulations for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) in Mumbai to favour the Adani company last month in November. The Adani Group had dismissed the charges as unfounded and malicious.

The Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI) Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI), the apex body of real estate developers in the Mumbai real estate market, has sought several exemptions for purchasing transfer development rights (TDRs) from the Adani Group's Dharavi redevelopment project.

The developers' association demands greater FSI in exchange for purchasing Transferable Development Rights (TDR) from the Adani group's Dharavi Redevelopment Project Private Limited (DRPPL). The developers also demand a reduction in the charges they must pay the government when acquiring TDRs.

The state government's Urban Development Department mandated on November 7 that developers in Mumbai purchase the first 40% of their TDRs from the Dharavi Project before acquiring them from other sources.

CREDAI-MCHI was reacting to the state government's proposals and objections to changes in procedures for purchasing TDR for the Dharavi redevelopment project. The project is the largest in the Mumbai real estate market in terms of rehabilitation and reconstruction.

Simply expressed, TDR refers to a situation in which development rights in one location are used to fund development in another. The TDR is issued to the developer or land owner for a variety of reasons, including height limits in a specific area, a public reservation, or infrastructure projects necessitating the acquisition of private land.

The developer can resell the TDR to other developers searching for a higher floor space index (FSI) for their other development projects. The FSI ratio establishes the allowed construction and is also a measure that governs the height and allowable construction in a certain building.

CREDAI-MCHI stated in their application that prospective buyers (developers) will be able to purchase Dharavi TDR if its use results in a higher Floor Space Index (FSI) for their plot. When slum TDR was established in 1997, a similar increase in FSI was allowed, according to the developers.

The CREDAI-MCHI also stated that regulating the sale price of Dharavi TDR is illogical. It stated that slum TDR is not capped and that such a sale price cap was not included in the Dharavi project contract document.

Furthermore, the CREDAI-MCHI has proposed that surcharges for fungible FSI in sale and rehab buildings be waived, as well as various additional relaxations and exemptions.

Adani Group's DRPPL has been contacted. Their reply will be revised.

The Adani Group was named the winner of the Maharashtra government's redevelopment project in 2022. Following this, the Congress party accused the BJP of lowering regulations for the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) in Mumbai to favour the Adani company last month in November. The Adani Group had dismissed the charges as unfounded and malicious.

The charges of 'tweaking' and alterations to favour selected bidders, according to the business, do not reflect the regulatory transparency of the process. "Alleging favouritism of any kind is a mischievous ploy to muddy the waters and divert attention from our goal of transformational urban management," the department said on November 18.

"We believe this is being done on purpose by certain vested interests who hope to derail or at least delay Dharavi's people's long-cherished dreams for a better future," the statement added.

Dharavi is home to around one million people, and the Dharavi reconstruction project will take 17 years to complete, including seven years for slum dweller rehabilitation.