TIMES CITY THE TIMES OF INDIA, MUMBAI | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2015 HOW TO DOWNLOAD Get the free Alive App: STEP 2 Picture Scan: Open the Alive app on your phone and scan the STEP 3 Watch the Available on select android (version 4.0 and AND USE ALIVE APP Give a missed call to picture by focusing your phone’s camera on it. QR Code Scan: Open the photo come Alive. above), iOS (version 7.0 and above), BB 18001023324 or visit Alive app and tap on the ‘QR code’ tab at the bottom of the screen. Fill the View it and share (version 5.0 and above), Symbian (version S60 PAGES16 alivear.com from your mobile phone QR code inside the square and hold still. Available on iOS and Android only. it with friends. and above), Windows (version 7.5 and above) 400 bars, pubs & restaurants could get to stay open 24x7 had assured them he would involve revenue and jobs, but without incon- State Set To Amend Laws In Monsoon Session; Hoteliers’ Body all stakeholders before deciding the veniencing residents. “The legisla- line of amendments in laws such as tion can allow those places which Meets Netas, Tells Them Move Will Bring In Revenue, Tourists the Shops and Establishments Act. have an inbuilt mechanism to take HRAWI office-bearers Gogi Singh, care of security, traffic, etc. in com- Chittaranjan.Tembhekar night entertainment zones for ment. The police have said they have Dilip Datwani and Pradip Shetty mercial areas to serve through the @timesgroup.com Mumbaikars as well as tourists. no objection to bars, pubs and res- were present at the meet. night. The government is set to The Times of India, in re- taurants operating through the Shetty told TOI that close to 400 amend the laws in the monsoon ses- round 400 bars, pubs and sponse to demands by citizens, has night in commercial and non-resi- establishments operated in malls, sion,” she told TOI. restaurants – located in run a constant campaign for freeing dential areas. multiplexes, and in the commercial, Thackeray apparently told HRA- over 20 malls and multi- the city’s nightlife, especially in ar- Shiv Sena’s Aaditya Thackeray WI members that many people like Aplexes across Mumbai eas designated as entertainment had on Monday called on Chief Min- Mumbai’s put to sleep by Stone him don’t get places to eat after see- and in the city’s busi- zones, for the past several years. ister Devendra Fadnavis, and the Age laws— Mumbai Nightlife will ing movies. HRAWI members told ness areas such as Nariman Point, The establishments may be able state is learnt to have decided to change that, says Aaditya him there were seven million tour- Kala Ghoda, Andheri, Fort, Powai, to stay open 24/7 once existing laws amend the laws. At present, bars and Thackeray: P22 ists visiting Mumbai every year, BKC and on mill lands such as those are amended during the state legis- pubs, including those in two- and who avoided staying here even for a in Lower Parel – may get to serve lature’s monsoon session. City po- three-star hotels, are allowed to re- serving liquor allowed till 3.30 am. and BJP leader Shaina NC at the industrial, corporate and market single day. “If they spent one extra food and liquor 24x7 once the city’s lice chief Rakesh Maria recently main open till 1.30 am, while restau- A delegation of the Hotels and mayor’s bungalow on Tuesday. zones of the city. day in the city, the state can generate nightlife is liberated. Some of these cleared a proposal on the matter rants have to shut by 12.30 am. Only Restaurants Association-Western Thackeray and Shaina NC reported- Shaina NC said the govern- revenue worth thousands of crores areas, in fact, may turn into over- sent to him by the tourist depart- in four and five-star hotels are cafes India (HRAWI) called on Thackeray ly told the delegation that Fadnavis ment’s idea was to increase tourism, and also jobs,” they told Thackeray. Shocked activists to take protest ‘Treating FSI as a commodity against Aarey biz hub plan to CM will be disastrous for the city’ Devpt Plan Does CAN THIS AREA AFFORD SKYSCRAPERS? Will Object To The Not Correlate Index Proposal When With Infra: Experts Feedback Is Sought [email protected] [email protected] Mumbai: Experts say the only way proposal for carving to house Mumbai’s burgeoning out a possible business population is to go vertical, but ex- district out of lush Aa- press doubts on whether the draft Arey Colony and “aug- Development Plan 2034, the city’s menting the institu- growth blueprint for the next tional and public amenity two decades, has got its facts and requirements of the suburbs” by us- ideas right. They also question the ing some of the land mentioned in decision to hike FSI in the city’s ol- the Draft Development Plan 2034 has der areas and for schemes like SRA The draft DP proposes an FSI of 8 for areas near railway stations like Dadar jolted many citizens and environ- and redevelopment of cessed WHAT IS FSI | Floor space index is the mentalists. buildings in south Mumbai, as ratio of the total built-up area of a Dahisar They were shocked that the these regions have the worst in- structure vis-à-vis the size of the plot BMC, guardian of a megapolis al- frastructure. They fear that verti- Borivli ready short on open spaces, was cal development in the absence of Example | If FSI is fixed at 1, a Mulund looking at development in one of the better amenities may create an ur- 1,000 sqm plot can have a total Kandivli last lungs of the city. Members of the ban hellhole. built-up area of 1,000 sqm Save Aarey Group are planning to The DP proposes an FSI of 8 CITY HAS VARIABLE FSI tweet chief minister Devendra Fad- near areas like Dadar and Andheri ➤ FSI varies according to housing navis directly against the proposal railway stations, which are already Andheri as well as bombard the administra- congested. An FSI of 6 has been schemes like slum rehab, redevelop- tion with their objections once the proposed for areas no less congest- ment of cessed buildings, cluster plan is put up to invite feedback. ed, like Kurla, Parel and DN Nagar. redevelopment, Mhada colonies, hotels Ghatkopar “More FSI means immense and hospitals. The government has, Kurla pressure on infrastructure,” said from time to time, tweaked FSI for these Khar Pankaj Joshi, executive director, DON’T TOUCH schemes to allow more construction Bandra Mankhurd Over the years, FSI has NEW Development blueprint for Dadar Worli AAREY come to be the dominant PLAN next 20 years building regulation. Facades with 31.9 “Everybody in Mumbai knows any kind of common theme, even the pitiful state of open spaces. The 4.55 58.1 trees in Aarey are the last lungs of a common frontline, are a thing 5.0 the city. Instead of looking at eco- of the past. That is why we now 0.5 CST Churchgate Floor Space nomic development in Aarey, the au- have a more and more chaotic Arcs represent Index thorities should have a park on the looking urban environment percentage of lines of Central Park in New York or city’s area 8 Natural Areas Hyde Park in London,” said Priya Shirish Patel | URBAN PLANNER Mishra, a member of the Save Aa- 6.5 Railway Land rey Group. It is already fighting to Urban Design Research Institute Mainly close 5 Area Under SPA stop the cutting and transplantation (UDRI), a charitable trust that Mainly near In relatively to stations 3.5 of trees in Aarey Colony for the pro- helps the BMC to coordinate with stations remote and (present Railway Track posed Metro III car shed. NGOs and citizen groups in con- close to or upcoming) 2 areas Metro Line The draft DP says historically, ducting DP workshops. “Theoreti- employment Metro 0.15 key centres for economic growth cally the plan looks good, but prac- hubs stations Waterbodies have developed on public land, like tically it does not correlate FSI Ballard Estate, the Backbay recla- with infrastructure. FSI has been IMPACT OLD PLAN mation area and Bandra-Kurla increased, but in the absence of ➤ Big constructions may be allowed ➤ DP 1991 prescribed low and Complex. Similar spatial options for proper infrastructure, its impact in or near high density areas uniform 1.33 FSI in island city and 1 boosting economic growth and de- will be highly problematic.” velopment of the city are now limit- He said FSI was being offered as ➤ Prices could dip, but transport, in suburbs in a bid to contain ed. Aarey land seems to be the only a solution for all the city’s ills and civic amenities will probably be hit population growth and density one which offers “such space not on- that treating FSI as a commodity ly for new economic growth but also may bring in short-term gains, but BUILDERS MAIN BENEFICIARIES HONG KONG’S FSI 10 for augmenting the institutional will have only disastrous effects in ➤ Experts say doling out higher FSI ➤ Some prominent architects and and public amenity requirements of Mulund Link Road) expected to pass land use survey, which excludes nat- them non-usable. the long term. has only helped builders to construct builders constantly give the example the suburbs”. through Aarey Colony. This will ural green areas, indicates availabil- G R Vora, member of the F-Nor- Aravind Unni, architect-plan- expensive luxury housing and has of Hong Kong, where FSI of over 10 is This seemed more like the mind- help understand the environmental ity of 1.24sq m of open area per per- th Citizens Federation, was scepti- ner for Youth for Unity and Volun- never helped to create public set of the builder class, said Manish impact likely to be caused in the ar- son.