Delhi Markets to Get More Floor Area Ratio

Exactly a month after Union development minister Kamal Nath outlined his vision for Delhi to go vertical, in the mid-term review of the Master Plan 2021, Delhi Development Authority (DDA) on Monday came out with a public notice inviting objections and suggestions for the first set of 23 amendments finalized so far. The public has 90 days to file comments before the amendments go through several stages to the final notification stage.

According to the proposed modifications, the focus of the review clearly seems to be on group housing and development norms that will allow multi-storey flats to come up in planned areas. For instance, it is proposed to provide additional floor area in residential plot group housing for community needs such as community hall, creche, recreation centre, library, reading room, senior citizen club and society office. The proposal states that additional floor area at the rate of 0.6% of the permissible area — subject to a minimum of 400 sq m and maximum of 1200 sq m — be allowed. The additional FAR will be over and above the coverage allowed to the society for residential use. The master plan, so far, allows additional floor area up to a maximum of 400 sq m for community facilities.

To ease the way for redevelopment of local shopping centers and sub-city level markets, it has been proposed to incentivize the redevelopment with a maximum overall FAR of 50%, over and above the existing permissible FAR. “Due to their proximity to residential areas, these markets need to be redeveloped to overcome the environmental and traffic problems. Traders associations shall share the responsibility of redevelopment to modern wholesale markets for sub-city level markets. Existing built-up commercial centers may also be redeveloped if need be with enhanced FAR subject to payment of appropriate levies,” read some of the modifications proposed for the mid-term review.

For new housing meant for urban poor, it has been proposed that developers of group housing shall ensure that at least 15% of proposed FAR be constructed for community service personnel and lower income category. The modification states that employer housing of central government, state government and other government agencies are not required to follow the requirement of FAR or dwelling units for community service personnel and lower-income category.

The current lot of amendments in the public notice is just the first of a lot. “These are all based on feedback received from the public at the time of the mid-term review several months back that has been filtered/discussed in detail by expert groups and approved by the Authority. After this, more than 4,300 suggestions were received in the six open-houses held by DDA. These are still being examined by various expert groups,” said a senior official of DDA’s planning department.

“After we receive public feedback on the finalized 23 amendments, these will be placed before a board of inquiry and then come back to the Authority for approval. Finally, they will be sent to the UD ministry for final notification,” said DDA spokesperson Neemo Dhar.