Maha Govt rules out Sachin's dream of larger FSI

Mumbai, Feb 18: Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar's dream of having a gymnasium at his new under-construction home at Bandra has been "clean bowled" by the Maharashtra government, which has refused permission for it.

The architectural firm, in charge of Tendulkar's house, had requested the Urban Development Department (UDD) to allow the construction of the gym free of Floor Space Index (FSI) on the top floor of the four-storey building at Perry Cross Road.

However, the UDD is not in favour of the proposal as the FSI approved for the 8,998 sq ft plot is one, which means the constructed area cannot exceed the plot area. FSI is the ratio between the built-up area and the plot area.

"The construction has already consumed its full FSI and it also falls under CRZ rule 1967 of zone II, since the house was purchased in 2008," a source from the UDD said.

Also under the Development Control (DC) rules, only the cooperative societies are given additional FSI for a gymnasium but this is an individual's property and hence it is not possible to permit more FSI, the source said.

The UDD has moved the file of the request, with negative remarks, to Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, who is also the minister of the Department, for a final decision.

Tendulkar's grand house will have a huge parking area, spacious guest rooms and a swimming pool on the top floor.

After reconstruction, it will have 10 rooms. The ground floor will have three rooms plus parking facilities, the first floor will have two large guest rooms, the bedroom and the children's rooms will be on the second and third floors respectively, while the fourth floor will boast of a swimming pool.

The house, which was built in 1920 and owned a Parsi family, was purchased by Tendulkar for Rs 39 crore in 2008.

PTI