Open Spaces, Recreation Grounds and Podiums: the DCPR 2034 Figures on Your Sanctioned Plan

Four different regulations of DCPR 2034 protect the open land on your plot, and knowing which is which is the difference between a committee that can argue and one that can only complain. Regulation 27 fixes the recreation ground — the regulation calls it Layout/Plot Recreational Ground/Open Space, or LOS — as a percentage of the plot. Regulation 41 fixes the marginal open spaces, the set-backs between the building and the plot boundary. Regulation 37(31) governs the podium. Regulation 47(1) fixes the clear ground-level space a fire engine must be able to drive into. All four carry published figures. If a builder tells you open space is purely a design matter, that is wrong — and this page shows you the exact place on your own sanctioned plan where the numbers are printed.

This page is general legal information for society members, not legal advice. The figure that binds your project is the one on your own sanctioned plan, so have that plan and your development agreement checked by a qualified advocate before you sign anything.

What the law protects — and what each term means

Every building in Mumbai is approved against a sanctioned plan — the official drawing the planning authority (usually the BMC, MHADA or SRA) stamps as approved. That plan fixes how much of the plot may be built on and how much must stay open. The open portion is not wasted land; it is made up of several protected elements, and it helps to know exactly what each one is:

• Recreation ground (RG) / LOS — Regulation 27: the garden, play area and sitting space kept for residents. Regulation 27 sets it as a percentage of the plot, with a floor of 125 sq m and a minimum dimension of 7.5 m.
• Marginal open space (set-backs) — Regulation 41: the gap left between the building and the plot boundary on every side, for light, air and fire access. Regulation 41(2) sets the general figures; Regulation 41(5) sets the reduced figures that apply to society redevelopment schemes.
• Amenity open space: land handed over for a public amenity — often the condition on which extra Floor Space Index (FSI) was granted. In an Urban Renewal Scheme under Regulation 33(9) this is a separate 10% of the plot, over and above the recreational open space.
• Podium — Regulation 37(31): a raised deck over the parking. It is permitted only on a plot of 1000 sq m or more, and Regulation 37(31) says the additional LOS may go on the podium — not the required LOS, which Regulation 27 keeps mostly on the ground.

You will find these figures on three documents you should always read together: the sanctioned plan, the IOD (Intimation of Disapproval — the BMC's approval letter that lists the conditions), and the Commencement Certificate (CC), which permits construction to begin. A glossy marketing brochure is none of these and proves nothing about your open space.

Where to look on the plan. DCPR 2034 requires an area statement in Form I to be printed, in the regulation's own words, "At right top corner of site/building plan at Ground Floor Level". Item (II)(C) of that Form I area statement reads "Requirement of Recreational Open Space in Layout/Plot as per Regulation No.27". That single line on the top-right corner of your ground-floor sanctioned plan is your recreation-ground entitlement in square metres. Find it before you read anything else.

Source: DCPR 2034 (sanctioned), Appendices and Annexures — Form I (Sr. No. 2, 9, 10, 11, 19 in Annexure 1), item II(C).

Who owns the recreation ground — the regulation is explicit

You do not need to reach for a general principle about open space. Regulation 27 says who owns the LOS, what may stand on it, and what may not, in words a committee can quote back across a table:

• Ownership vests in the members, by deed. Regulation 27(1)(e): "The ownership of such LOS shall vest by provision, in a deed of conveyance, in all the property owners on account of whose holdings the LOS is assigned." So the LOS is conveyed to you. Check that your draft conveyance and development agreement actually say so.
• It must stay open and accessible. Regulation 27(1)(f) requires the LOS to be "kept permanently open to the sky and accessible to all owners and occupants". A recreation ground marked on the plan but kept locked is not compliance.
• A clubhouse on it stays a clubhouse. Regulation 27(1)(g)(ii)(c): "Such structures shall not be used for any other purpose, except for recreational activities." And under (e) of the same clause, the owners or society must give the Commissioner a registered undertaking to that effect — ask to see it.
• A private layout's LOS cannot be taken over. Regulation 27(1)(g)(ii)(f) and Note 3 to Regulation 27: LOS in a private layout is for the exclusive use of that layout's residents, is not subject to acquisition by MCGM, and the existing recreational open space area "shall have to be maintained".
• Fire space must stay drivable. Regulation 47(1)(d): "These open spaces shall be free from any obstruction & shall be motorable." That is the provision to cite when a generator, a water tank or a sales cabin appears in the side margin.

If work has actually been built beyond the sanctioned plan, Regulation 11(4)(a) directs the Commissioner to take action "which may include demolition of unauthorized works as provided in section 53 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966" and the relevant provisions of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888. Regulation 11(4)(b) adds a lever most societies never use: it is the duty of the Architect or Licensed Surveyor on Record to inform the Commissioner immediately of any unauthorised work and to tell the owner or developer in writing to stop, failing which action is taken against the architect. That architect's name and registration number are printed on your sanctioned plan.

Redevelopment adds a second layer under RERA — the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, administered in this State by MahaRERA. Section 14(2) says the promoter cannot make any alteration to the sanctioned plans, layout plans and specifications without the previous consent of at least two-thirds of the allottees. Read the whole sub-section, because section 14(2)(i) carves out minor alterations the allottee themselves requested, or that an architect or engineer certifies as necessary — the bar is not absolute, and a builder will say so. What it does mean is that a reduction of your recreation ground or set-backs to fit in saleable flats is not a minor alteration a promoter can make alone. This is the same rule we explain in our note on why changing sanctioned plans needs consent. Section 14(3) makes the promoter liable for defects for five years from handover, with thirty days to rectify once notified. Complaints go to MahaRERA under section 31.

The recreation ground: the actual percentages (Regulation 27)

Regulation 27(1)(a) publishes the LOS as a straight percentage of area, for residential and commercial layouts:

Four qualifications that decide real arguments:

• The table starts at 1,001 sq m. Regulation 27(1)(a) prescribes no percentage below that. If your plot is 1,000 sq m or smaller, do not accept a quoted percentage — ask your architect in writing which provision is being applied.
• The base is net, not gross. Note 1 to Regulation 27: "The area of LOS shall be calculated on the area excluding the areas under DP road/ setback/ reservations area to be handed over to appropriate authority." And the LOS itself must be exclusive of accesses, internal roads, existing amenity or reservations, DP roads and road-widening areas.
• Minimum size and shape. Regulation 27(1)(b): no LOS shall measure less than 125 sq m. Regulation 27(1)(c): minimum dimension not less than 7.5 m, and if the average width is under 16.6 m the length shall not exceed 2½ times the average width. This kills the classic trick of showing your "garden" as a 3 m ribbon along a compound wall.
• Split across places. Where the layout exceeds 5,000 sq m the LOS may sit in more than one place, but at least one of those places must be not less than 1,000 sq m.

The floor for society redevelopment schemes: 10 per cent

The proviso to Regulation 27(1)(a) is the sentence a cessed or MHADA society most needs. It says that in redevelopment schemes under Regulation 33(5), 33(7), 33(8), 33(15) and 33(20)(A) the LOS "may be reduced due to planning constraints, minimum of at least 10% shall be maintained." A further proviso adds that under Regulation 33(5), if the existing LOS is more than 10% of the layout, that existing area shall be maintained.

Two consequences. First, a reduction below the Regulation 27 percentage is lawful only on stated planning constraints, and never below 10%. Second, if your builder proposes a reduction, ask on the record what the planning constraint is and get the answer minuted — because 10% is the floor, not the starting point.

Cluster redevelopment under Regulation 33(9) has its own figure. Clause 11.13 provides that even where the recreational open space is reduced to make the Urban Renewal Scheme viable, "at least 10 % of URC plot area shall be provided as recreational open space", and in addition 10% of the URC plot area shall be earmarked for amenity space, handed over free of cost to the Planning Authority. Those are two separate 10% slices — do not let them be merged into one.

Source: DCPR 2034 (sanctioned), Regulation 27 — Layout/Plot Recreational Ground/Open Spaces (LOS) in Layout/Plot; Regulation 33(9) cl. 11.13.

How much of the LOS may sit on a podium

Note 2 to Regulation 27 is the provision that answers the podium question, and it is arithmetic, not opinion:

• A minimum of 60% of the required LOS shall be provided exclusively on the ground.
• At least 50% of that ground portion shall be on mother earth, to let rainwater percolate — and the regulation says the LOS on mother earth "shall not be paved".
• The balance 40% of the required LOS may be provided on podium area extending beyond the building line.
• There is one exception: the entire LOS may go on the topmost podium open to sky — but only with a 1.5 m unpaved strip for planting trees (which is not counted in the required LOS), plus the marginal open space required under Regulation 47(1) on two sides for fire-engine manoeuvring; and if the LOS is on the podium, no parking is allowed on that podium and rainwater harvesting must be provided there.

Regulation 37(31) says the same thing from the podium side: "The LOS as laid down under Regulation No 27, may be provided as per note therein. The additional LOS, if any, may be provided on the podium." Additional. Not the required LOS.

Two caps to carry into the meeting where a builder offers you a clubhouse. Under Regulation 27(1)(g)(i), in an LOS exceeding 400 sq m in one piece, water tanks, electric sub-stations, pump houses and wet-waste treatment may be built but "shall not utilize more than 10 per cent of the LOS in which they are located". Under Regulation 27(1)(g)(ii), only where the LOS is 1,000 sq m or more in one piece and in one place may pavilions, gymnasia, club houses and swimming pools be built — with built-up area not exceeding 15 per cent of the total required LOS and plinth restricted to 10 per cent of it, height Ground + one storey not exceeding 8 m (raised to 13 m only to accommodate a badminton or squash court). Where a club house is proposed in the LOS, a gymnasium, fitness centre or yogalaya inside it "shall be insisted upon".

Set-backs in a redevelopment scheme (Regulation 41(5))

Regulation 41(5) is the sub-regulation that governs marginal open spaces in rehab and composite buildings under Regulations 33(5), 33(6), 33(7), 33(7)(A), 33(7)(B), 33(9), 33(9)(A), 33(9)(B), 33(10), 33(10)(A), 33(11), 33(15) and 33(20)(A). It applies to a rehab building, and to a composite building — which the regulation defines here as one where the rehab component is 50% or more. Notwithstanding the general figures in Regulation 41(2):

All of the above is expressly "subject to fulfillment of fire safety requirement as specified in these Regulations". Separately, Regulation 41(1)(a) sets a rule people forget: the marginal distance between a building and the LOS in the same layout "shall not be less than 3 m". A tower cannot be pushed up against your garden.

Source: DCPR 2034 (sanctioned), Regulation 41(5)(a)(i)–(iii) and Regulation 41(1)(a).

Fire-engine space — the number that is hardest to fudge (Regulation 47(1))

Regulation 47(1)(A) applies to rehabilitation and composite buildings under the same list of 33-series regulations, and it is where the podium is most often caught out:

• Height more than 32 m up to 70 m: at least one side other than the road side must have a clear open space of 6 m at ground level, accessible from the road side. "However, if podium is proposed it shall not extend beyond 6 m from building line so as to have clear open space of 6 m at ground level beyond podium accessible for fire appliances. No ramps for the podium shall be provided in these side open spaces."
• Height more than 70 m: at least one side other than the road side must have a clear open space of 9 m at ground level. If a podium is proposed it must not extend beyond 6 m from the building line, and either 9 m must be clear at ground level, or 6 m clear beyond the podium plus 9 m at ground level with a clear height of 4.5 m from ground to podium, measured below the soffit of the beam, so a fire appliance can drive under.
• Regulation 47(1)(c): any courtyard, ramp or podium a fire appliance uses "shall be capable of taking the load up to 10 Kg/cm2".
• Regulation 47(1)(d): "These open spaces shall be free from any obstruction & shall be motorable."

Note the difference for a non-rehab project: under Regulation 47(1)(B), a building of 32–70 m needs 9 m clear on one side, and a building above 70 m needs 9 m clear on two sides. Ask which limb your project is being approved under, because the answer changes the ground-level space you get. This connects directly to the rules on high-rise buildings on narrow roads and on refuge areas and fire safety.

Our plain-language guide to DCPR 2034 explained and our note on open-space and amenity rules for large plots walk through how these apply, and the FSI calculator helps you sense-check how buildable area and open space fit together on your land.

The five protected spaces, and the provision to quote

How open space quietly disappears

Most disputes are not about a builder openly refusing open space. They are about slow erosion — small changes that each look minor but together turn shared green space into flats. The common patterns are:

• Locked or cluttered RG. Shown on the plan but kept shut, or used to stand generators, water tanks and service structures. Cite Reg 27(1)(f) — permanently open to sky and accessible — and Reg 27(1)(g)(i), which caps such structures at 10% of the LOS they sit in, and only where that LOS exceeds 400 sq m in one piece.
• Podium sold as the garden. Cite Note 2 to Reg 27: at least 60% of the required LOS on the ground and half of that on unpaved mother earth. Cite Reg 37(31): only the additional LOS goes on the podium. And check the plot is 1,000 sq m or more, because Reg 37(31) permits a podium only on such a plot.
• A "garden" that is really a strip. Cite Reg 27(1)(c): minimum dimension 7.5 m, and length not more than 2½ times average width where average width is under 16.6 m. Cite Reg 27(1)(b): nothing below 125 sq m counts.
• Set-backs trimmed to widen the tower. Cite Reg 41(5)(a) for the scheme minima, and Reg 47(1) for the clear fire space, which is a separate requirement the set-back does not automatically satisfy. See our notes on high-rise buildings on narrow roads and refuge areas and fire safety.
• One slice counted twice. In a cluster scheme, amenity space and recreational open space are shown as the same land. Cite Reg 33(9) cl. 11.13 — the amenity 10% is "in addition to" the recreational 10%.
• Built beyond the plan. That is illegal or unauthorised construction. Cite Reg 11(4)(a) and section 53 of the MR&TP Act 1966, and remember that on a sanctioned plan deviations are required to be shown red hatched under Table 2 (Colouring of Plans) to Regulation 10 — so a red-hatched patch on a revised plan is a deviation, by the regulation's own notation.

None of these is a commercial choice the developer is free to make alone. Where it changes the sanctioned plan, RERA section 14(2) requires the previous consent of at least two-thirds of allottees; where it goes beyond the sanctioned plan, it is unauthorised development under Regulation 11(4).

The nine checks to run on your own sanctioned plan

Open space is a right you defend on paper, before signing. Work from the approved documents, not the brochure, and do these in order. Each one has a figure or a provision behind it, so each one produces an answer you can minute.

1. Find Form I. Look at the top right corner of the ground-floor sanctioned plan. Read item II(C), "Requirement of Recreational Open Space in Layout/Plot as per Regulation No.27", and write down the number in square metres. Also read item 5, "Plot area under Development after areas to be handed over" — that is the net area the LOS percentage runs on.
2. Do the percentage yourself. Apply 15 / 20 / 25 per cent to that net area per Regulation 27(1)(a) and check it against item II(C). If the plan shows less, ask in writing which proviso is being used and whether the 10% floor applies.
3. Check the shape, not just the area. Scale off the LOS on the plan: minimum dimension 7.5 m, minimum area 125 sq m, and length no more than 2½ times average width where the average width is below 16.6 m.
4. Split ground versus podium. Confirm at least 60% of the required LOS is at ground level and at least half of that is unpaved mother earth. If the whole LOS is on the topmost podium, confirm the 1.5 m unpaved tree strip, the two-sided fire margin, no parking on that podium and rainwater harvesting on it.
5. Read the colours. Under Table 2 (Colouring of Plans) to Regulation 10, the recreation ground is shown in green wash, roads and set-backs in burnt sienna, proposed work red filled in, and deviations red hatched. If you are comparing an old plan with a revised one, the red hatching tells you where the change is.
6. Measure the set-backs on every side and check them against Regulation 41(5) — 3.0 m up to 32 m, 6 m above 32 m, 9 m above 70 m, 12 m beyond 120 m — and confirm the marginal distance between the building and the LOS is at least 3 m.
7. Check the fire space separately. Under Regulation 47(1) the clear ground-level space is 6 m (rehab, 32–70 m) or 9 m (rehab above 70 m; and 9 m on one or two sides for non-rehab), the podium must not extend beyond 6 m from the building line, and no podium ramp may sit in these side open spaces.
8. Count the trees. Five per 100 sq m of LOS under Regulation 27(1)(f). Ask for the landscape plan and count them on the drawing.
9. Move it into the contract. Insist the LOS area in square metres, its ground/podium split, the set-backs, the podium extent and the Regulation 27(1)(e) conveyance of the LOS to the members are written into the development agreement, matched to the sanctioned plan. Our note on red flags in a development agreement shows what weak clauses look like, and the amenities should be ready and usable at possession. Have the plan and the draft agreement reviewed independently — our free tender and agreement review is built for exactly this.

What to minute, and when. Pass a managing-committee resolution at the meeting immediately after you receive the IOD or CC, recording: (a) the Form I item II(C) figure and the net plot area from item 5; (b) the ground / podium split of the LOS; (c) the set-back and fire-space figures; and (d) that no alteration to these will be consented to except by a general body resolution, since RERA section 14(2) requires the previous consent of at least two-thirds of allottees. Keep a certified copy of the plan with the minutes. When a revised plan later appears, that minute is what lets you show the change.

If open space has already been encroached: where to go and what to file

Take the steps in this order. Step 1 is not optional — every forum below will ask for it first, and a complaint without it goes nowhere.

Step 1 — Get the document and preserve the proof

• Certified true copies of the sanctioned plan, IOD and CC from the Building Proposals department of your ward at MCGM. If the developer will not hand them over, apply under section 6(1) of the Right to Information Act, 2005 to the Public Information Officer, Building Proposals, for your ward. The reply is due within 30 days under section 7(1); if it does not come, a first appeal lies under section 19(1) within 30 days of that deadline. Diarise both dates.
• An as-built measurement by an independent licensed surveyor or architect, dated and dimensioned, set against the sanctioned plan — showing the LOS area actually provided, its ground/podium split, and the clear side and rear distances. This is the document that converts "they took our garden" into a measurable shortfall in square metres.
• Dated photographs of the obstruction, and the society's letters and the developer's replies. Do not rely on WhatsApp alone; send at least one letter by registered post with acknowledgement due so there is a served copy.

Step 2 — Serve the notices that carry a statutory duty

• The Architect / Licensed Surveyor on Record. Their name and registration number are on the sanctioned plan. Regulation 11(4)(b) makes it their duty to inform the Commissioner immediately of unauthorised work and to tell the developer in writing to stop, on pain of action against them. A letter putting them on notice of that duty tends to move faster than anything else in this list.
• The Executive Engineer, Building Proposals of your ward, seeking action under Regulation 11(4)(a) and section 53 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, 1966.
• The Chief Fire Officer, Mumbai Fire Brigade, if the encroachment sits in the fire margin — citing Regulation 47(1)(d), "free from any obstruction & shall be motorable", and the podium and ramp restrictions in 47(1)(A). Fire clearance is a precondition of the Occupancy Certificate, so this is the objection with the sharpest commercial edge.

Step 3 — Choose the right forum

Choose one main forum and stay in it. Filing the same grievance in three places at once usually slows all three down. Which forum fits depends on your specific plan, approvals and agreement, so settle it with an advocate experienced in redevelopment before you file.

Step 4 — Minute it

Record in the managing committee minutes, at the meeting where the encroachment is first tabled: the date the discrepancy was noticed, the measured shortfall in square metres against the Form I item II(C) figure, the notices served and their registered-post receipt numbers, and the resolution authorising a named office bearer to file. A general body resolution is needed before you commit society funds to litigation. Circulate the resolution to every member, because a member who never saw it can later say the committee acted alone.

The position is not a matter of opinion. Regulation 27 says how much open space you get, Note 2 to it says how much must be on the ground, Regulation 41(5) says how wide the margins are, Regulation 47(1) says what must stay drivable, and RERA section 14(2) says none of it changes without two-thirds of you agreeing. Get those five numbers off your own plan, put them in the development agreement, and you have protected the light, air, safety and long-term value of every flat in the building.