Request to GB Members to Consider Following Issues

4 FSI Proposal

Request to GB members to consider following issues

1. The DMRC report has been submitted in English. In order for it to be studied by the members of the GB and public, a summary of the report should be made available in Marathi.

2. The proposal seems to indicate that Metro is recommended due to huge traffic volumes and forecasts showing even more increase in the future. Then it also says that Metro requires further densification along the corridor. These two statements seem to be contradictory and need an explanation.

3. The proposal asks for 4 FSI within 500 m of the Metro corridors and 200 m of the BRT corridors. A map should be provided with the corridors marked and the 4 FSI Zone also marked. What is the total area of the proposed 4 FSI zone?

4. The proposal does not exclude any portion of the corridor for 4 FSI. The map of 4 FSI should also show areas where extra FSI is not possible/allowed as per other rules.

5. DMRC report says that sale of 4 FSI along just half the length of the Metro corridor (1/2 of 31.5 km) will yield 18,900 crores! But cost of Metro is only 4700 crores. So why 4 FSI?

6. Why is 4 FSI also needed along the BRT corridors?

7. Already the density of congested area of Pune is too much and administration is not able to provide water, solid waste management, sewage treatment etc. There is no plan to address these issues. As per proposal will only 20% of revenue from paid FSI cover the costs of providing these basic amenities? Even if money is enough does administration have the capacity to implement the projects in a timely manner?

8. The current traffic situation is also very bad. 4 FSI will increase density even more. We do not expect everyone to use Metro (or BRT). This will lead to even more congestion. Proposal does not address this issue. Will there be some policies to restrict the use of vehicles also? Is that practical?

9. With increased density we will also need more public spaces/gardens, schools, health care centres etc. Unless the new DP addresses all these issues, how can one simply allow 4 FSI at this stage?

Note prepared by concerned citizens from various groups.

Dear Ranjit:

The expense of a Metro is justified on the routes which are traveled by very large volumes of people and a bus becomes impractical since the required frequency is so high that the buses become a train. But of course they can not travel together as a train so a Metro is the option. This is precisely the case in the inner city of Pune where the roads are short because the distances are short, passenger volumes huge and road width insufficient. In this case the metro has to go underground. Just as we create urban(high value/multi use) land above ground for accommodating various uses we create land below ground for accommodating large groups of travelers who travel at the same time. To justify the high cost of UNDERGROUND METRO higher FSI are given because these are prime properties because of their City Centre location and there are already takers for them. High land value in suburbia is a result of their location away from the hustle and bustle of the city and where people like to live in generously proportioned houses. A BRT would be ideal for these long distance travelers. Here the roads are wide and distances long. No need to take the metro there. Also most people in these locales own their own transport and travel point to point.

It is eminently stupid to put the metro above ground in areas where traffic volumes are low and offer high FSI to increase traffic. This sort of approach is self defeating because it will not reduce the inner city chaos. In fact the question is when all these people have traveled from the outer city to the Deccan Gymkhana part of the inner city how will they proceed to Laxmi road?

Introducing a Metro is introducing a whole new culture of travel behaviour but it must be cohesive with culture of living in Pune. One can not make decisions on the premises of Delhi, Calcutta or Mumbai except to accept that the METRO is accepted by people readily and it works as a efficient clean mode of travel.

The whole Metro routing must be rethought.

Aneeta