NOIDA: The Noida Authority is planning to tweak its bylaws for various categories of projects to prevent developers from carrying out constructions up to the maximum purchasable FAR without taking prior permission or getting layouts approved.
FAR or floor area ratio is the ratio of the total area allocated for a project and the built-up area.
For instance, say a builder has been allotted 10,000sqm for a group housing project. If the approved layout says that the company can carry out construction on 5,000sqm, it means that the total ground area is 50%.
Now, if the developer has permission to build up to 10 storeys in one building, it means that the total area covered by these floors is 50,000sqm (5,000sqm x 10 floors). When this is divided with the total area allotted for the project (10,000sqm), it gives the purchasable FAR, which is 5 in this case.
“Suppose, the purchasable FAR for a project is 5. In many cases, we found that the builder carried out initial construction on 2.5 FAR after getting a layout approved. The company then built the additional floors on the purchasable FAR and visited the Authority only after that. It also agreed to pay the compounding fee or fine required for this,” an official said.
According to the officials, this amounted to “jumping the gun” and compromised other aspects of a project like green and common areas, parking space and height of the building.
The Authority, officials said, is exploring two options to prevent such cases.
One, it will not allow construction up to the purchasable FAR without permission. Two, the Authority might increase the compounding fee or fine from a mere Rs 200 a sqm to Rs 2,000 a sqm to deter such builders.
These two proposals will be taken up for discussion at the next board meeting of the Authority.
Ideally, developers seeking to undertake additional construction after utilising the basic FAR should first apply to the Authority. It studies various aspects such as parking provision, environmental nod, fire safety, a clearance from the Airports Authority of India for the building’s height, and verification of the structural design by IIT, NIT or any govt engineering college.
The Authority subsequently reviews the application and presents a report, along with the calculation of the purchasable FAR fee, to the CEO. If the CEO gives approval, the map with the purchasable FAR is sanctioned after a fee is deposited.
Gaurav Gupta, general secretary of Credai (NCR), said the practice of adding floors without approval was more common before the implementation of the UP-Rera Act in 2017.
“Under the Rera Act, developers are required to give out all details about the project in advance. They need to specify whether they are constructing up to the basic FAR or purchasable FAR,” he added. Gupta said builders now took more precautions, as additional construction after selling a project to homebuyers was cumbersome and required a no-objection certificate (NOC) from two-thirds of them.
