New DC rules propose a new ‘high’ for city

For commercial use of land owned by or reserved for PMPML, Pune Metro and MSRTC, a basic FSI of 1 has been suggested. A basic FSI of 4 has been proposed for basic shelter for urban poor and housing on land owned by MHADA.

The committee was appointed to revise the development plan (DP) for the old city areas and it had submitted the report to the state government in September following which they were given 45-day time-frame for submitting the development control (DC) rules.

The set of rules prescribed in the report will help redefine the floor space index (FSI) in the area. FSI is the ratio of the total floor area of a building to the size of a plot and limits the maximum construction. The DC rules proposed by the committee have mentioned an increase of 0.3 FSI from the existing rules. The present FSI is 3.3 and the proposed FSI is 3.5.

Pune’s divisional commissioner S Chockolingam, who headed the committee which reviewed the DC rules, said they aimed to simplify it as well ensure more transparency. “The thrust was to ensure more FSI in the city, simplify development control rules and bring about more transparency to make it easier for a layman to get permissions cleared in less time rather than having to run from one office to another,” said Chockolingam.

Citizens will now no longer have to approach various offices for building permissions and the mandatory requirement for NOCs have been removed. The permissions will have to be given in the stipulated 60-day time-frame or else a deemed certificate can be approved by the commissioner. “Earlier, though deemed certificates were given, they were not accepted. The proposed rules say they should be cleared by the commissioner,” said Chockolingam.
The need for plinth checking certificate has also been dropped in the proposed DC rules.

On the transparency of building calculation, Chockolingam said that earlier the balcony, double height terrace, passage and staircase were all calculated separately. Now, this has been calculated under the premium and fungible FSI to ensure better transparency.
A change has been suggested for easier calculation, which includes basic FSI as 1.2 followed by TDR, premium and fungible FSI as 2.3 taking the total up to 3.5 FSI.
“A person who has initially drawn an FSI of one can now go up to 3.5, so the flat size can increase from 1,000 sq meters to 3,000 sq meters, which will be very beneficial. Funds drawn from this additional FSI will go towards the infrastructure fund,” said the commissioner.

While FSI is 3.5 for non-congested areas, it will be 2.5 for congested areas, mainly the peth or the city areas.
The proposed DC rules has also suggested doing away with the need for permissions from the high-powered committee for high-rises on the height of a new building.

“Earlier, high-rises were given permissions after approval from the high-powered committee under the state government. According to our proposal, there will be no permissions required,” said the commissioner.

Incentives for TP schemes in new residential areas, stress on cluster development and green buildings have also been stressed upon in the DC rules.
4 FSI for Pune Metro
To facilitate travelling by the Metro, an FSI of 4 has been proposed to encourage construction along the Metro line so that people choose to stay close to it, as is the case in Delhi.