Many urban planners had raised concerns that the premium floor area ratio would encourage unplanned development in the city of Bengaluru. | Photo Credit: File photo
The state government’s withdrawal of the Karnataka Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which provides premium floor area ratio (FAR), may have dashed civic bodies’ hopes of generating more revenue, but there are concerns that it will affect transferable development rights. (TDR) Attention has been drawn towards promoting unplanned development in markets and cities.
This bill was passed by both houses of the legislature this February. However, Governor Thawarchand Gehlot expressed concern and returned the bill to the government. It may be recalled that when the BJP was in power, the Governor did not give assent to the Bill in 2021. But the Congress government again drafted the Bill with some changes. A senior BBMP official said the government wants to take a chance as the implementation will generate more revenue. The governor had expressed concern over the overlap of premium FAR with transferable development rights (TDR) given by civic agencies, sources said.
The bill provides for loading of premium FAR up to 60% of the permitted FAR on the road depending on the width of the road. Developers had to buy premium FAR, the cost of which was calculated based on the property’s guidance value from the BBMP. Now, developers who want to develop more than the available FAR have to buy TDR in the open market and load on the FAR. If the BBMP itself sold the premium FAR, the landowners who lost land to public projects and were issued TDRs instead of cash compensation, would be killed as it would affect the market of TDRs, it was argued. Although the BBMP said that any premium FAR should also have a portion of TDR, the governor did not accept it, sources said.
Meanwhile, many urban planners had raised concerns that the premium FAR would encourage unplanned development in the city, as opposed to Transit Oriented Development (TOD), proposed in the Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) proposed by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL). , which allowed FAR up to 5 in Namma Metro corridors. The draft Revised Master Plan – 2031 prepared by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) was also scrapped to include TOD, before the CMP opted for the TOD approach, which would ensure densification of the city only along the Namma Metro corridors. However, the premium FAR will essentially allow the FAR to be overloaded on streets as narrow as 30 feet, anywhere in the city, leading to unplanned development.
Speaking to citizen activist NS Mukund Hindu The government said it was a good move to scrap the bill as it would lead to high-density development in cities and metro lines. In a city with a growing population, unplanned infrastructure growth will only increase traffic. In its current form, FAR access will be granted in the commercial sector. For example, along Jesse Road where traffic is slow now, further development would choke the road. He said, ‘It is good that the government has abolished FAR.
Mr. Mukund said the government may allow FAR in new developing layouts like Nadaprabhu Kempegowda layout and road widening. It will also spread the population and pave the way for development.
Amar Mysore, president of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India, expressed displeasure with the development and said he hoped the bill would be implemented as CREDAI would bring in revenue. “For a city like Bengaluru, FAR is the need of the hour because infrastructure has to grow as fast as the population,” he said.
published – December 18, 2024 at 11:48 pm IST