Devendra Fadnavis confirms Mumbai DP 2034 has not been scrapped

It's official. The debate over the development plan (DP 2034) was settled yesterday, after the Chief Minister admitted that contrary to common perception, it hadn't been scrapped entirely but would be released again after some corrections.

CM Devendra Fadnavis confirmed that it was a deliberate decision not to scrap DP 2034 entirely, and instead release it again after its errors have been corrected. File pic

mid-day had reported that ever since CM Devendra Fadnavis announced the rejection of the DP on April 21, confusion has reigned in the BMC and within the construction industry (‘So is the DP scrapped or not?', April 30). Despite the DP 2034 failing to get approval, Fadnavis instructed officials to follow its provisions, along with those of the existing DP 1991, which threw the city into a tizzy.

A day after this confusion led to a heated argument in the corporation's standing committee, Fadnavis told mid-day on Thursday that it was a deliberate decision to not scrap the controversial DP 2034 entirely. "Had I scrapped the new plan, the people who have reservations on their land according to DP 2034 would have immediately submitted development proposals for their land on the basis of the old plan (DP1991).

I do not want these people to benefit from the mistakes that the authorities have committed in preparing the new draft," the CM explained. He added that the best way to prevent misuse of the situation was to keep both plans in place. "I asked that the stricter of the two be applied. Misuse by the people would have left no green spaces available in the city," he added.

Fadnavis' explanation is significant in view of the confusion over both DPs, which threatens to hold up 25 per cent of the construction projects in the city. However, Fadnavis assured that the project clearances would be fast-tracked as soon as the corrected DP is released.