Dnyaneshwar Bhalerao, chairman, standing committee, told reporters on Friday that a decision was taken to change the terms and conditions for the project at a meeting held to discuss the build, operate and transfer (BOT) projects of the PCMC.

Bhalerao said, "The PCMC wanted the whole city centre project for commercial purpose, but builders said that they should be permitted to use some space for residential use also. They said that the PCMC should not put conditions on land use and also expressed their inability to deposit Rs 100 crore, stating that the market conditions are bad."

Consequently, the PCMC has decided to reduce the deposit amount to Rs 50 crore, Bhalerao said. The civic body will hand over only that portion of land that has to be developed. The commercial space will be 50 per cent of the total area of the city centre project, while retail market will have 30 per cent space and office space will be 20 per cent.

Source: Times Of India PCMC to relax norms for city centre project