Bengaluru: testing vertical limits Premium

With Bengaluru’s population expected to reach 18 million this year, builders are making the most of the state government’s revised permissible floor area ratio that allows them to construct additional floors

In the era of memes, I came across one of the funniest and relevant one about Bengaluru which went: ‘A city where a software developer travels for 2 hours to the office to develop an app that delivers items in 10 minutes.’ Oxymoron it may be, but Bengaluru holds the dual distinction of being the Silicon Valley of India while having one of the most acute infrastructure challenges in the world. According to the United Nation’s World Population Review, Bengaluru’s population was estimated at 14,008,300 in 2024 as against 7,45,999 in 1950 and is expected to reach 18 million by 2025. At the same time, the city has witnessed unprecedented growth with the presence of some big technology giants, creating employment and entrepreneurship opportunities.

Although this highlights the city’s attractiveness as the preferred destination to live, work and grow, it also points towards the growing pressure on existing civic infrastructure and the environmental challenges such as reduction in green cover, access to clean drinking water, lack of drainage systems and rising temperatures.

In this backdrop, the Karnataka government’s decision to upwardly revise the permissible floor area ratio (FAR) by 60% that will allow developers to construct additional floors in completed or upcoming properties is a positive move. By enabling additional construction to the tune of 40% of the total built up area, this move will enable the city to join the likes of Mumbai, Gurugram and Delhi-NCR in housing highrises and skyscrapers. This will open up avenues to accommodate the city’s growing demand for commercial and residential spaces. This also leads to addressing of other civic concerns including the need for power, water, waste disposal, public parking spaces and more, leading to the government to upwardly revise the floor area ratio which means more building volume for a given land area, leading to denser, potentially taller buildings. This will also lead to better flood planning for the city as higher FAR would mean construction of robust drainage systems and flood-resistant building designs with better water management and green cover.

By allowing developers to purchase premium floor area ratio at 28% of the guidance value, the government has made the process of constructing additional floors affordable and attractive for developers. This move will also add to the margins of real estate developers who will be able to develop additional real estate space at affordable rates while rents continue to soar healthily, satiating the real estate needs of one of the fastest growing cities in the world.

More importantly, it will open up opportunities for the development of more sustainable buildings which are energy-efficient, minimise heat gain due to their efficient design, a high-performance HVAC system, and use extensive natural daylight.

From LEED-certified Palais Royale in Mumbai, which is India’s tallest building at 320 metres, to the country’s second tallest construction, Lokhandwala Minerva, standing at 300 metres or 1,000 feet, features such as car elevators and dedicated car parks maximise space, thereby reducing the need for extensive horizontal parking structures. Indian real estate developers have thus successfully developed tall structures which are sustainable. This further assumes significance for Bengaluru as it has over 1.20 crore registered vehicles with more than 1,100 cars per kilometre of road. Drivers spend an average of 28 minutes and 10 seconds to travel just 10 kilometres, according to two separate reports by the city’s transport department and the TomTom Traffic Index released in January this year.

While commercial properties have limited space to provide green cover given their presence in city centres and try to reduce their carbon footprint by minimising the energy needs for operational purposes, residential projects can take a lead in developing the towers in 20-30% of the land and keeping the rest for landscaping, aiding significantly in water conservation, reduced temperature due to greenery and lower carbon emissions. Therefore, strategic planning of tall commercial and residential complexes needs to be carefully undertaken in consultation with the government to ensure citizens have to travel less to access their needs, effectively reducing vehicular pollution, traffic snarls and particulate matter in the air.