Withdrawal of Premium FAR Bill crushes BBMP’s hopes of generating more revenue, but protects TDR market and prevents unplanned development

The State government withdrawing the Karnataka Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which provided Premium Floor Area Ratio (FAR), may have crushed the hopes of the civic body generating more revenue, but concerns that it will hit the Transferrable Development Rights (TDR) market and promote unplanned development in the city, have been heeded to. 

The State government withdrawing the Karnataka Town and Country Planning (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which provided Premium Floor Area Ratio (FAR), may have crushed the hopes of the civic body generating more revenue, but concerns that it will hit the Transferrable Development Rights (TDR) market and promote unplanned development in the city, have been heeded to. 

The Bill was passed in both Houses of the legislature in February this year. However, Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot returned the Bill to the government expressing concerns. It may be recalled that when the BJP was in power, the Governor did not give assent to the Bill in 2021. But the Congress government yet again drafted the Bill with a few changes. A senior BBMP official said the government wanted to take a chance as the implementation would generate more revenue. The Governor had raised concerns over overlaps of the Premium FAR with Transferrable Development Rights (TDR) given out by the civic agencies, sources said. 

The Bill provided for loading Premium FAR up to 60% over and above the FAR allowed on that road depending on the width of the road. Developers had to buy Premium FAR, the cost of which was calculated on the basis of guidance value of the property, from the BBMP. Right now, developers who want to develop more than the available FAR have to buy TDR in the open market and load over the FAR. If BBMP itself was selling Premium FAR, landowners who lost land to public projects and got TDR issued instead of cash compensation, would be hit as this would impact the market for TDR, it was argued. Though the BBMP said that any Premium FAR should have a component of TDR as well, the Governor did not accept this, sources said. 

Meanwhile, several urban planners had raised concerns that Premium FAR would promote unplanned development in the city, in contravention to Transit Oriented Development (TOD), as proposed in the Comprehensive Mobility Plan (CMP) proposed by Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. (BMRCL), which allowed FAR up to 5 along Namma Metro corridors. Even the Draft Revised Master Plan - 2031 prepared by the Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) before CMP opted for the TOD approach, was scrapped to include TOD, which would ensure densification of the city only along the Namma Metro corridors. However, Premium FAR would essentially allow overloading of FAR even on streets as narrow as 30 feet, anywhere in the city, leading to unplanned development.

N.S. Mukunda, civic activist, talking to The Hindu said the government scrapping the Bill was a good move as it would increase high density development in the city as well as along the metro line. In a city where the population is growing, unplanned infrastructure growth would simply increase traffic. In the current form, FAR access will be given in commercial areas. For instance if along JC Road where at present traffic movement is slow, further development would choke the road. “It is good that the FAR was scrapped by the government,” he said. 

Mr. Mukunda said the government can allow FAR in newly developing layouts like Nadaprabhu Kempegowda Layout and others widening the road. This will also spread the population and pave way for even development. 

Amar Mysore, president of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India, expressing unhappiness over the development, said CREDAI had hoped for the enactment of the bill as it would bring revenue. “For a city like Bengaluru, FAR is the need of the hour because infrastructure should grow as rapidly as population,” he said.