Impact of new farmhouse policy on Delhi’s greenbelt
The recent amendment to the farmhouse policy in Delhi has led to suspicion among many that it may put pressure on the infrastructure in Delhi’s green belt.
What amendments were made?
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) made few amendments to the farmhouse policy earlier this year. Earlier, the minimum plot area required to build a farmhouse was 2.5 acre, but as per the new policy under the review of Master Plan of Delhi 2012, the limit has been reduced to one acre. After the introduction of one-acre farmhouse concept, flats in some of the plush areas in Delhi have been facing strong competition.
The civic authority also approved a higher floor area ratio (FAR) by permitting more built-up area. It has allowed owners to construct houses on up to 20 percent of the land as compared to 15 percent earlier. The DDA gave its nod to 27 villages identified as ‘low-density residential area’ (LDRA), where one-acre farmhouses can be developed. Apart from this, an additional dwelling unit can also be built by buying an additional FAR of 10, by paying requisite charges as approved by the authority. With these amendments, it has opened up chances of developing three residential units on a one-acre plot having a total FAR of 30.
The policy also supported regularisation of all existing farmhouses in the proposed urban extension area that were built prior to February 7, 2007, and also those where sanctions had been sought prior to February 7, 2007, but accorded after the date by the regulatory authority. Such farmhouses were said to be re-designated as ‘country homes’, stated the policy.
What will be the impacts of this policy change?
Allowing farmhouses on one-acre plots is likely to increase the supply of farmhouses, which will further make them available at lower rates. But besides this, it will also add more pressure on the infrastructure. Real estate experts are of the opinion that as Delhi is landlocked, basic facilities are strained only in the case of high-density developments.
Zones J, L, N and P are marked as urban extensions of Delhi, where farmhouses have been allowed on one-acre plots. New developments in zones L and N provide great scope for creation of fresh infrastructure. These two zones offer contiguous land chunks. At present, the cost of land in zone J ranges between Rs 10 crore to Rs 40 crore per acre while it was around Rs 3 crore to 10 crore in 2007. In Zone N, land per acre is priced around Rs 2 crore to Rs 4 crore.
Infrastructure development has to be considered in Zone J, which involves few challenges. The zone has around 10,000 acres of land available for new project development on which over 2,500 housing units can be built.
Farmhouses in Chhatarpur area under zone J are being sold in a price range of Rs 15 crore to 25 crore per acre. Not much land is available in this zone for new development. With farmhouses being approved on 1 acre plots, the demand for farmhouses has gone up highly. Adding to this, farmhouses offer good returns and also the circle rates are less in these areas. However, some are of the opinion that, this trend will overcrowd the area and pressurize the existing infrastructure.
However, even if there are two or three units per acre, the density per hectare would only be around 50 persons. So there is no much difficulty with regard to infrastructure, opine few experts.
