The state government issued the final notification of the premium floor area ratio (FAR) which allows real estate developers and citizens to construct an additional 0.6 times the existing FAR.
However, the minimum road width for seeking the premium FAR has to be 30 feet or 9 meters and only in locations which have been identified by the local civic agencies as “impact zones”.
Accordingly, the permissions will now be provided on payment of an additional amount which will be calculated on 50 per cent of the existing guidance value.
For example: If there is a sital area of 1000 square meters, the allowed FAR is 2.5 times. Based on this calculation, the allowed built up area is 2500 sq mt.
Now, with the premium FAR, a developer or citizen in the impact zone can seek for an additional FAR of 1 and add a built up area of 1000 sq mts.
This would effectively mean, for the additional 1000 sq mts, a person will be paying an extra Rs 10 lakhs if the guidance value of the notional (perceived additional site area) sital area is Rs 20 lakhs.
The decision to levy the premium FAR was taken in lieu of the demand for vertical development in key cities across Karnataka, and primarily in Bengaluru.
The premium FARs are likely to be issued along the Namma Metro lines and the peripheral ring road (PRR) in Bengaluru where there is a high demand for real estate development.
The move is likely to increase the revenue accrual for the government amid a financial crunch due to Covid-19 pandemic.
The notification has also put a clause of mandatorily allocating 50 per cent of the revenue generated towards “developing infrastructure relate to the purpose for which FAR was issued” and the rest 50 per cent towards “acquiring land and shifting of utilities related to the purpose for which the FAR was issued”.
