The provision to allow Premium Floor Area Ratio (FAR) up to 60% depending on the width of the road across the city essentially means that the State government has given the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) along Namma Metro corridors a pass. This may lead to higher density of development in areas not serviced by Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS), stretching infrastructure, and may add to traffic congestion, experts and civic activists fear.
Significantly, the Draft Revised Master Plan-2031 was scrapped to integrate TOD linking MRTS and land use into the master plan as per Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) introduced by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL), which gave FAR up to 5% in the immediate Impact zone of Namma Metro. However, the State government, by bringing The Karnataka Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Bill, 2024, has now gone back to square one.
“The city has chosen to go the TOD way with a view to densify corridors along Namma Metro, and may be later along suburban rail, to increase the share of public transport. Now that the State has gone back to the traditional mode of providing FAR based on road width across the city, it can potentially lead to high density development away from MRTS, which essentially means adding to congestion,” said a senior urban planner, who did not wish to be named.
Another urban planner said that FAR should always be a tool of planning, but it was clear from the State government’s move that Premium FAR was being used as a fiscal tool, which is not a good sign. The State Budget presented on February 16 said: “Additional non-tax resources of ₹2,000 crore will be mobilised through revised advertisement policy and premium FAR Policy’‘ in Bengaluru.
Takers for Premium FAR?
However, there are others who feel that given the lax regulation in the city, Premium FAR may have the same fate as that of Transferrable Development Rights (TDR), which failed to take off. “Builders are violating building bylaws without any fear of consequences. The same government promises to remove oversight over plan approvals and allow self-declaration and also push for Akrama Sakrama. In such a scenario, only genuine big builders may buy premium FAR and others will violate with impunity. Premium FAR or TDR will only work when the regulatory mechanism and its enforcement is strict in the city,” said civic activist N.S. Mukunda of Bengaluru Praja Vedike.
The industry welcomed Premium FAR, but with caveats. “Premium FAR will be of good use and the government will also make money out of it. But at the same time, the government should also frame rules for TDR, so that we can use the TDR we have now. Otherwise, that will become a dead investment. Premium FAR alone will not work,” said Suresh Hari, secretary, CREDAI-Karnataka.
CAF to legally challenge
Vijayan Menon of Citizen Action Forum (CAF), that has earlier fought the zoning regulations case, said that as far as Bengaluru was concerned, Premium FAR cannot be brought in through this mode, but only through a Master Plan, for which civic elections need to be held and Bengaluru Metropolitan Planning Committee has to be constituted. “So the process through which this is being attempted is wrong and CAF will challenge it,” he said.
Published - February 21, 2024 08:03 pm IST
