“The existing DC rules are complicated and need to be simplified. We also need to incorporate features that suit the city,” Municipal Commissioner Praveensinh Pardeshi told The Indian Express.

“The five cities will be studied and the best of their bylaws will be integrated in the new exclusive DC rules of PMC,” Vikas Bhandari, an architect member of the DC rule group, said.

The existing DC rules of PMC were drafted in 1976 and sanctioned in 1987, he said. When they were framed, buildings were only three storeys high; today the city is waiting for 40-storey structures. “The city has changed a lot since then and the old rules have become redundant,” said Bhandari.

Technology too has changed with time. The PMC wants to incorporate new building methods in the development process, the architect said.

The government has stressed uniform DC rules for all cities, but the architect felt this would not work. Every city has its own geography, culture and demography of every city.

Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad had framed exclusive rules and developed properly, Bhandari said. He cited the success of the exhaustive parking bylaws in Hyderabad.

“We are focusing on incentive-based, planned development throughout the city, with additional incentives in old, congested parts. People who own two or three buildings, for example, will be encouraged to join hands and set up their own parking provisions,” he added.

Architect Shirish Kembhavi, also a member of the DC rule group, said, “The group assisting the PMC’s DP cell is also undertaking a number of discussions and studies so that the new DC rules will be easy to understand and implement, besides meeting the basic aim of tackling the key challenges the city faces.”