PUNE: The 23 areas merged with the civic limits in 2021 are expected to witness a realty boom once the Unified Development Control and Promotion Rules are implemented.
Developers and landowners are likely to benefit from provisions such as relaxations in the side margins. This will lead to an increase in high-rise buildings in the added areas, mostly in the city’s fringes. The rules define a high-rise as “a building having a height of 24m or more above the average surrounding ground level”.
Residents and local leaders of newly merged 23 areas have been requesting govt to implement the rules. “Implementation of the rules was a pending demand. The approval is a welcome sign. It will bring uniformity in the construction rules and regulations in all areas under Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC),” said Sudhir Kulkarni of citizens’ group Nagari Hakka Samiti.
Local developers were of the view that an increase of around 10% is expected in the basic FSI was likely after the implementation of UDCPR in the merged areas. Depending on the road width, the FSI could go as high as 5, considering other options like ancillary and premium FSId. Buildings as high as 24m or more could be constructed without much hassle now, the developers said.
“The purpose of the Unified Development Control and Promotion rules is to bring uniformity about building nods. Its implementation will serve the purpose in the 23 merged areas. Complications related to building by-laws can also be avoided between the 23 merged areas and other PMC localities,” said Sandip Hardikar, an architect.
PMC data showed that the civic administration usually allotted around 3,000 building permissions every year. Among these are permissions for new buildings and redevelopment projects. After the 23 villages were merged with PMC, state govt appointed Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) the special planning authority for those areas in the PMC limits. As a result, the civic administration was not providing the building permissions.
“The Unified Development Control and Promotion Rules can be implemented by default if PMC is made the implementing authority. However, since PMRDA has the rights to allot building permissions, a special approval is needed from the state using Unified Development Control and Promotion Rules,” a senior PMC official said.
The official added that a notification about the new arrangement was issued by state govt on March 15 before the model code of conduct for the LS polls was implemented.
