Hyderabad: Relaxation in building norms to promote Urban Growth
With the objective of bringing about uniformity with regards to building rules in the state, the Government of Andhra Pradesh issued a notification in March, 2006. Known as the “Common building rules”, it dispensed with the Floor Area Ratio (FAR). Following this, many developers where pushing for a similar law to be implemented in their respective cities.
Floor Space Index:
In this context, it is important to understand the meaning of FSI (Floor Space Index). As per the World Development Report of 2009, FSI is the ratio of the total floor space of a building to the total area of the plot on which the building is built. Today, a major a stumbling block faced by the real estate sector across the country is with regards to low utilization of available land in the form of low FSI.
Unlimited FSI model in Hyderabad:
With regards to whether the unlimited FSI model has helped the Hyderabad realty market grow, the property values in the city enable to provide a pointer to this. Compared to other metro cities like Bangalore and Chennai, the current selling price in Hyderabad is lower by 20-30%. Thus the city has over time evolved as a model city, thereby enabling to bring down property prices.
Strict building norms enforced:
Inspite of the concept of FSI not being employed in the Hyderabad realty market, there are certain strict building norms that the city has enforced. For instance, the number of floors that can be built in a building depends on the width of the road. Thus, for a road having a width of 30 metres, the building norms of the city specify that for a plot of 9,000 sq.ft, Ground + 5 floors is allowed.
Increase in FSI felt to benefit major cities:
Compared to the FSI range prevalent in major Indian cities, the FSI figures are much higher in International cities. Hence, it is imperative that a relaxation in the FSI norms is brought about. Recently there was a pressing demand from the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra regarding increasing the FSI around the railway stations of Mumbai. It was felt that by increasing the FSI, there will be a reduction in the city’s congestion as well as pollution.
Compromising on FSI to benefit developers than end-users:
It is believed that the relaxation in FSI will have an impact on metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. With the increase in residential units in these cities, the capital and rental values of residential units are likely to come down. However, compromising on the FSI is likely to benefit developers and not end-users. When the super built-up area is increased, it will provide higher profits to developers. As a result, there will be a reduction in the open spaces in apartments, the balcony space as well as the reserved parking space.
Govt to play a crucial role in reducing property prices:
It is in this context that the role of the government becomes significant in facilitating affordable housing. When the government lowers the prices at which the land is auctioned, there would be a drastic fall in property prices. As a result, buyers can expect to buy residential property at affordable prices, without being at the mercy of developers, who quote their prices with the motive of filling their coffers.
