The Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) will conduct an individual review of 95 stalled construction projects where additional Floor Space Index (FSI) was approved between 2020 and 2025.
The decision was taken during a special meeting chaired by Principal Secretary Aseem Gupta, who also directed the civic administration to initiate strict action against developers, architects and officials found responsible for approving additional FSI in violation of applicable regulations.
Construction at all 95 projects was halted after Municipal Commissioner P.B. Prithviraj identified irregularities in the sanctioning of additional FSI. The approvals were issued during the tenure of civic officials including Y.S. Reddy and Anil Pawar, who were arrested in August 2025 in connection with a separate case involving the construction of 41 illegal buildings that were subsequently demolished.
Following the discovery, VVCMC instructed the District Registrar to stop registration of sale deeds for flats, houses and shops in the affected projects. Notices were also issued to the respective developers.
According to civic sources, hearings have so far been completed for 88 of the 95 projects. The town planning department said developers associated with these 88 projects had submitted applications for additional FSI through the online system. Officials, however, indicated that there could be additional cases where applications were submitted through offline channels and have yet to undergo scrutiny.
Case-by-Case Decisions
The special meeting was attended by several senior officials and public representatives, including MLAs Rajan Naik and Sneha Dubey, MMRDA Additional Metropolitan Commissioner P. Velrasu, Palghar District Collector Dr Indurani Jakhad, Municipal Commissioner P.B. Prithviraj and Urban Development Department Deputy Director Nirmalkumar Chaudhary.
After reviewing the stalled developments, authorities directed the civic body to assess each project separately rather than adopt a blanket approach.
The review will also consider measures intended to protect the interests of existing residents and homebuyers, including the possibility of granting full or partial occupancy certificates wherever legally permissible.
The authorities are expected to determine the future course of each project after examining approvals, compliance records and the circumstances under which the additional FSI was sanctioned.
Source: Hindustan Times
