To allow high rises or not?

WHAT IS FAR?

Floor area ratio FAR or floor space index FSI is the ratio of the total floor area of the construction to the total area of the plot that it is built on. Essentially,FAR imposes a limit on how much a developer can construct on a plot of land. The amount of FAR allowed varies from city to city. It depends entirely on the discretion of the citys development authority,which also has the responsibility to develop a commensurate level of infrastructure. On an average,most Indian cities allow FAR between 1.33 and 3.75.

Developers complain that low FAR does not allow them to recover the high cost they pay to buy land. On the other hand,the municipal authorities,who wield control over FAR norms,are wary of relaxing them. As PSN Rao,head of housing at Delhi-based School of Planning and Architecture says: When FAR is increased,it has an impact on existing infrastructure,unless the latter is also upgraded.

RAISE FAR,SAY DEVELOPERS

In India,especially in recent years,land has turned costly in most metros and the bigger cities. Developers argue that if FAR were increased,it would allow them to earn decent margins. Says Manoj Gaur,joint-MD of Gaursons India,a Delhi-based real estate developer: In India the price of land constitutes almost 50 per cent of project cost,whereas overseas it is only 15-20 per cent. Abroad,wherever land rates are steep,the government allows high FSI,thus enabling developers to cover their costs and maintain their profits.

The other argument that developers put forward pertains to development of mass housing at affordable cost. Niranjan Hiranandani,MD of Mumbai-based Hiranandani Constructions says that only by allowing higher FAR will it be possible to provide quality housing to the masses and to achieve the goal of housing for all. FSI should be increased to around four to six in the country, he says.

NOT INDISCRIMINATELY,SAY URBAN PLANNERS

In reply to developers contention that higher FAR is allowed abroad,Rao says that abroad if the FAR is much higher,then the level of infrastructure provision is also very high. In our cities and towns,be it water,power,public transport,solid waste management,drainage,mobility management,parking and other social amenities,the level of provision is too slow and too inadequate,thanks to the style of working of para-statal organisations and municipal governments. Therefore,one should be careful when addressing a demand for increase in FAR. The key imperative for high FAR provision is proper urban planning in the beginning itself,and speedy implementation of the plans. These are conspicuous by their absence here in India, he says.

Per se,says Rao,there is nothing wrong in increasing FAR as it only amounts to increasing the efficiency of utilisation of urban land which is a scarce commodity. However,as he hastens to add: We are not in a position to provide requisite infrastructure even for existing FAR,so one can well imagine the state of affairs when we increase the FAR.

According to SP Bansal,additional commissioner-planning at Delhi Development Authority,it is necessary to develop infrastructure first before increasing FAR. Or,as Anshuman Magazine,country head of CB Richard Ellis says: FAR and infrastructure should develop simultaneously. But alas,in our country,this is not happening,resulting in high property prices and hardships for buyers.

In recent times,support for developing cities that are developed over a small area and where most buildings are high-rises,has begun to find greater support. The reason: when a city is lowrise and widely spread,infrastructure has to be developed over a larger area. This is far more expensive than providing infrastructure for a city that is highrise and spread over a smaller area. But as experts say,all this must be thought of and adequate infrastructure provided right at the planning stage.

FLOUTING THE NORMS

Small builders have devised an ingenious method that allows them to flout FAR norms with impunity. First,they manage to get their plans approved with the connivance of the field staff. Once the construction that flouts FAR norms gets completed,the flats are handed over to buyers. The builder then disappears from the scene and can no longer be held accountable.

Devinder Gupta,MD of Century 21,believes that the authorities are equally to blame. Whatever builders do is not possible without the connivance of the authorities. Interestingly,under municipal bylaws,such violations are indefensible. But the authorities turn a blind eye to them,in the process displaying disdain for residents safety. Such violations have become rampant. The only solution lies in creating a regulator for the sector.

The Building Bylaws of Delhi pertaining to execution of construction work after the approval of revised plan clearly state that to ensure enforcement of buildings and execution of works as per sanctioned building plans,construction activity shall be monitored at every stage: excavation,construction of foundation,plinth,first storey and each subsequent storey. They further state that during the course of construction,in case of changed circumstances,if substantial deviations from the sanctioned plans become necessary,then construction must be stopped. Revised plans must be submitted and approved by the competent authority. The bylaws further add that violations at the front and back of the house or reduction in parking area shall not be tolerated.

WHAT ARE CITIES DOING?

Different cities are dealing with the demand for higher FAR in different ways. For instance,Mumbai and a few other cities allow Transfer of Development Rights TDR. TDR allows owners of properties in some classified areas overpopulated areas or heritage buildings to increase FAR. But they are not allowed to reconstruct buildings according to the higher FAR norms in the same area. The extra FAR can be used in another location where there is no overcrowding. Says Rao: This has its own dangers because the market will determine the rates at which FAR FSI in the case of Mumbai gets traded and the location where it gets loaded despite the fact that there are designated originating and receiving zones.

Some cities have taken the rather extreme measure of eliminating FAR altogether. In Hyderabad,the sky is the limit for exploiting land,provided the developer makes provision for adequate infrastructure. Experts view this trend as dangerous. It is well known that most local authorities implement things at a much slower pace than the pace at which built space is developed, they say.

THE BOTTOMLINE

According to experts,decisions regarding FAR,which is an important tool of urban planning,should be taken with utmost caution. Unfortunately,the decisions in this regard are ultimately taken by the legislators,not by professional urban planners and that creates problems, says Rao. While the need for increasing FAR,especially in bigger cities,cannot be denied,the government must improve infrastructure before it takes any such measure. Hand-in-hand with increasing FAR,it must improve its monitoring mechanism to ensure that there are no deviations from the sanctioned plan. Homebuyers,on their part,must pay a lot of attention to whether adequate infrastructure is available in the locality where they intend to buy a house.

praveen.singhexpressindia.com