Pune: FSI hiked to 4, new DC rules pave way for more houses, high-rise buildings

“The new DC rules encourage densification in the city by allowing higher FSI for buildings to be constructed along the mass transit route… These include Metro rail and BRTS,” said City Engineer Prashant Waghmare on Thursday. The new DC rules would be applicable throughout Pune, including the 23 merged villages, he added.

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The decision would enable the construction of bigger and taller buildings along the route. The Pune Municipal Corporation has already started the BRTS on Alandi Road and Nagar Road, and plans to introduce it on all main roads.

While the buildings would get more construction area, the size of tenements would have to be small, so that maximum population can reside along the mass transit route, said Waghmare.

He said the rule on allowing construction with one FSI has been changed to a minimum FSI of 1.1 in the city. “The issue of redeveloping old wada structures has been addressed by allowing additional 0.50 FSI for the redevelopment and provision of 300 sq feet area accommodation for tenants,” he said.

“The target is to construct six lakh tenements in 20 years… and the new DC rules will help in achieving the goal,” Waghmare said. To resolve the issue of shortage of government quarters, the new DC rules have made a provision of four FSI for government quarters, as against the existing one FSI.

However, the decision may not go down well with environmentalists, said a civic official.

The new DC rules state that the area between the blue flood line and red flood line would be restrictive for constructions, but it may be permitted at a height of 0.45 metres above the red flood line. “The area between the river bank and blue flood line would be prohibited for constructions, except for parking, open vegetable markets, gardens, lawns, open spaces, crematoriums and burial grounds, and public toilets, provided the land is feasible for such utilisation,” stated the rules.

The redevelopment of existing authorised properties within the river bank and blue flood line may be permitted subject to conditions that the plinth height of the building shall not be less than 0.45 metres above the red flood line, and a no-objection certificate is obtained from the irrigation department.

To encourage land owners to hand over reserved plot to the civic body for development of infrastructure, the new DC rules have introduced the new concept of Credit Bond to owners, which can be used to pay civic charges. This would be in addition to the existing practice of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) system, FSI and cash compensation, given in return of land being handed over to the civic body.

Buildings with commitments on implementing solar power, rainwater harvesting, and recycling of water provisions, would be given ‘incentive FSI’, as per the ratings done under green building norms.