BENGALURU: The Bill which provides for sale and purchase of premium Floor Area Ratio (FAR) was passed in the Legislative Council on Thursday amid walkout by BJP members.
The Karnataka Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Bill 2024 was tabled in the Council by Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who is also Minister for Bengaluru City Development. The Bill, which was earlier passed in the Assembly, allows developers to build additional floors by purchasing additional FAR and paying a fee of 40% of the guidance value to local planning authorities. The Bill also allows selling FAR.
Shivakumar said the premium FAR provision is expected to increase the revenue of local planning authorities, which can be invested in development projects. The premium FAR has been limited to 0.4% and the limit for Transferable Development Right is 0.6%.
The Bill provides for the proceeds from premium FAR fee to be used for land acquisition and development of basic amenities. FAR is currently determined on the basis of the road width, zones and other parameters.
BJP MLCs said the increasing number of buildings due to additional FAR may result in traffic congestion and suggested that it should be referred to a select House committee for a thorough debate. Some members suggested that the Bill be tabled after an elaborate discussion.
Shivakumar said the law has been simplified to benefit everyone and enhance the revenue of local planning authorities. The previous BJP government headed by Basavaraj Bommai had plans to amend this law, he added.
“We have made some amendments to the law. The premium FAR has been in force in Mangaluru for some time now. An additional revenue of around Rs 3,000 crore has been generated in the past six years. The amendment Bill extends this to the rest of the state,” Shivakumar said.However, Opposing the Bill, the BJP members walked out of the Council.
The Council also passed the BBMP Property Tax Amendment Bill, which was earlier passed in the Assembly.
Shivakumar said the Bill rectified a mistake of the previous government which resulted in heavy penalties on property owners. He said the 15th Finance Commission has stated that grants will be released only if the property tax is in line with the guidance value. Hence, the government introduced this amendment Bill.