TDR/FSI can't replace land acquisition compensation

The Bombay High Court on Thursday ruled that landowners could not be compelled to accept transferable development rights (TDR) or floor space index (FSI) instead of monetary compensation, for land acquisition.

- Urvi Mahajanl

A bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Advait Sethna emphasised that unless an explicit agreement was in place, the landowner must be compensated monetarily.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Purnima Talkies, a Dahanu-based cinema hall, challenging the Dahanu Nagar Parishad's refusal to provide compensation for acquiring its land for road-widening. Instead, the municipal body insisted on granting TDR/FSI.

The petitioner, owned by Hemant Mali, operates on 3,027 sq metres of land, originally granted through a sanad in 1939. Over time, structures like a compound wall and a stall were built. In 2018, Mali's nephew applied for permission to start an auto service station, but the request was never processed. Meanwhile, Dahanu was designated an ecologically fragile area in 1991, restricting industrial development.