BHUBANESWAR: In a major move, the State Government has rescinded its earlier stand and decided to enhance the base floor area ratio (FAR) in residential and commercial constructions from 1.2 to 2.0 across Odisha. This means that the owner of a plot of 1000 square foot will be allowed to build a floor area upto 2000 sq ft.
In a notification issued on April 11, the Housing and Urban Development Department (HUDD) had announced the increase in Base FAR which was stipulated at flat 1.2. Department sources said the decision to raise Base FAR was taken in public interest.
The new Base FAR will be implemented in Bhubaneswar Development Plan areas and other development authorities in the State. The decision has come as a sigh of relief for all those who were expecting a steep rise in housing unit prices by upto 50 per cent with a FAR as low as 1.2. The unilateral slashing of FAR would have taken a toll on housing projects and individual constructions. Besides, the land owners had expressed concern over the newly introduced Transferable Development Rights (TDR) certificate, which they would have got as compensation instead of cash, in lieu of property acquired by Government for developmental works.
Reduction of Base FAR would have forced developers to make additional investment in buying TDRs to achieve maximum permissible FAR range leading to escalation of flat prices, a developer said.
The State Government had notified the reduction in FAR on December 28, 2015 creating a flutter in real estate circles and common citizens alike.
The matter was first reported by TNIE on January 22 in an article titled ‘FAR Move Far from Fair’ and later taken up over a series of write-ups.
The decision evoked mixed reactions from real estate sector. Zed Estates Managing Director Tapan Mohanty said, “The TDR should be like an incentive and not a penalty. TDR should be applicable over existing and eligible FAR and the developers should not be compelled to buy the TDRs.”