Ghaziabad Building Bylaws Amended: To Allow Extra Floor
The Uttar Pradesh government has approved the proposal put forward by the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) to amend building bylaws, allowing construction of an additional floor with building constructions, raising the limit of floors to four. This is a landmark decision for the city in terms of town planning, and could have a huge impact on the city in terms of infrastructure development and resolving increased housing requirements.
Provision for building an extra floor
As per the new bylaws, permission will be granted to build a new floor/storey on a plot having an area of 112 sq. m. and above, provided the maximum number of individual units in the plot does not exceed 12. Besides addressing the housing problem, it will also be compatible with the environmental and civic requirements of the city. The demand for housing in Ghaziabad has increased many-fold in recent years due to the scarcity of available land, with the prices of available land spiralling beyond the affordability of the common man.
GDA plans more vertical development
In such a scenario, the GDA plans to undertake more vertical development in the city compared to horizontal development. This will enable the construction of more units on the same plot of land. While the existing bylaws allowed the registration of a plot only in the name of the first party, the new bylaws allows the registration of each residential unit in a plot to be done separately, thereby enabling the GDA to generate massive revenue.
Facility for 100% covered area for basement parking
Increase in residential units will mean that the number of cars used will also increase. While previously, considerable road space was usurped by roadside parking, the new bylaws will effectively address this issue as well. Plots with residential projects will facilitate the utilisation of 100 per cent of covered area for basement parking, besides stilt floors. This is contrary to the previous bylaws which allowed only 25 per cent of covered area for parking. As per the new bylaws, GDA will not provide clearance to a residential plan which does not provide 100 per cent of covered area for basement parking.
Ghaziabad to enjoy provisions of other CNCR regions
Ghaziabad, inspite of being within the Central National Capital Region (CNCR), was not allowed the provisions of the NCR regional plan 2041 as building bylaws were similar to those in the rest of Uttar Pradesh. However, the new bylaws will enable Ghaziabad to be on par with other CNCR regions, with the NCR Planning Board Act, 1985, overriding all other urban development acts.
