The state government has finally agreed to increase the floor area ratio (FAR) of residential plots in licensed colonies as well as for change of land use (CLU) granted projects for residential use along with purchasable development rights, officials said on Saturday.
Small developers and plot owners in Gurugram have been demanding for an increase in floor area ratio (FAR) since the state government allowed registration of fourth floors of plotted houses as independent dwelling units. FAR is the ratio of a building’s total floor area (gross floor area) to the size of the piece of land upon which it is built. The Haryana Building Code, 2016, provides that additional FAR is allowed on payment of charges as approved by the government from time to time.
As per the existing norms, where FAR is 1.98, the plot owner can construct on around 66% of the area. But with the increased FAR, this can go up to around 75% to 80%. Director of DTCP, KM Pandurang, said that the department had received several representations from home developers and plot owners regarding an increase in FAR. “After the chief minister’s go-ahead, the limit of purchasable FAR has been increased,” he said.
Small developers have welcomed the move. Ramesh Singla, president of Home Developers Association in Gurugram, said that the state government has already allowed the construction of fourth floors and their registration as independent dwelling units. “An increase in FAR will balance the demand-supply gap and also check violations as many people carry out illegal construction,” he said.
Under the new rules, FAR for residential plots of 75 sq m till 250 sq m will be 2.64 and for 251 sq m till more than 500 sq m, it will be 2.40. At present, FAR in these plots varies from 1.8 to 1.98.
The rate for the increased FAR also varies from Rs 485 to Rs 8,070 per sq m depending upon the potential of zones. Similarly, the ground coverage for up to 75 sq m till 250 sq m residential houses has been kept at 66%, while for 251 sq m till over 500 sq m houses, the ground coverage is 60%.
However, some residents are not so happy with the move as they believe that increasing FAR will lead to crumbling of existing infrastructure. Abhey Poonia, a resident of Suncity, said, “The existing infrastructure, which is more than 30 years old, might not be able to sustain the additional load of a floor once the FAR is increased.”
Sunil Bhatia, a resident of DLF 1, said increasing the floor area ratio would mean more families in a building and extra load on the infrastructure. “Residents are already facing issues with basic amenities like water, electricity and roads, apart from lack of security.”
Recently the DTCP had cancelled the occupation certificates of over 200 residential properties which violated the building plan by carrying out illegal construction. Similarly around 400 property owners had stopped construction work hoping to resume once the FAR is revised.
However, the department has now clarified that the number of dwelling units allowed on residential plots would remain the same despite an increase in FAR. Wherever the building on a plot has already been constructed or is under-construction, the owner would have the option to purchase additional FAR to the extent required. In such cases, the department would not insist on the purchase of maximum allowed purchasable FAR.
However, in case of fresh sanction of plans and in cases where construction is being raised after demolishing the existing structure, the option of partial purchasable FAR would not be available, according to DTCP.
Officials said the entire revenue generated through the purchasable FAR would go to the municipal authority concerned for licenced colonies and to HSVP where it has to strengthen services due to increased density. It would be used for consequent development work that may be necessitated.
“The real estate sector is struggling and in such scenario, the registration of the fourth floor as an independent during unit was the only hope for our business,” said another developer.
Source : TOI
