MUMBAI, April 15 -- The state urban development department has granted more TDR (transfer of development rights) for the No Development Zones (NDZs) and Special Development Zones (SDZs) to be acquired for the coastal road. The BMC, which needs more than 40 hectares of private land for the Versova-to-Bhayandar stretch, feels that after this sop, it will be easier to acquire private land that comes in the way of the project. In India, transferable development rights are essentially building permits detached from land ownership. Owners of land on which construction is restricted (farmland, heritage sites) can sell these unused permissions to developers in designated development zones. Developers gain the right to build taller buildings, boosting profitability. In normal circumstances, TDR is permissible up to twice or 2.5 times for the Mumbai suburbs and island city respectively. However, the quantum of TDR generated for Development Plan Roads/ Reservations in the Coastal Regulation Zone, Low-Density Zones, Hazardous Zones, Special Development Zones or areas which have some natural or legal constraint on construction is 50% less than the normal TDR granted. Given this restriction coming in its way, the BMC wrote to the urban development department on December 15, 2025, pointing out that the proposed alignment of the coastal road fell in an SDZ/ Natural Area. "Private landowners, whose land gets affected in such major infrastructure projects and falls in SDZ/ Natural areas, are not keen to hand over the land in lieu of the TDR benefit of 50% of normal TDR generated," the civic body said. It added that landowners sought the option of monetary compensation but it had observed from past experience that monetary acquisition cases took a considerable amount of time and, further, during the declaration of the award by the district collector, the award amount value generally got enhanced, which ultimately created a huge financial burden on the BMC. Further citing the case made out by the BMC for extra TDR, the notification issued by the UDD on April 10 pointed out that the civic body had also said that acquisition under the Right to Fair Compensation and transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act was time-consuming whereas acquisition in lieu of TDR could be completed faster on verification of title and other documents. Taking all this into account, the UDD notification said that SDZs or NDZs, which are specifically affected by major infrastructure projects such as the coastal road, sewerage systems, non-buildable reservations such as storm water drains, public reservations ie playgrounds, gardens/parks and open spaces were "to be considered for acquisition in lieu of TDR without decreasing the quantum of TDR". However, the notification also said that the urban development department was of the opinion that the request made by the BMC was "considerable". It cautioned that blanket application of such incentives in NDZ/SDZ areas could adversely affect the TDR market and might also have unintended and adverse consequences on such zones....