There will now be no ceiling on the ambitions of Amdavadi builders. The revised draft development plan (DP) unveiled by Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA) on Friday has opened the skies for buildings of greater height and makes dream homes more affordable. However, no new land has been released nor any changes made in the existing development zones of city.
At the same time, increased ground coverage in General Development Control Regulation (GDCR) means there will be no compulsion to kiss the skies if you want to expand your building horizontally.
The revised draft DP for Ahmedabad and 68 adjoining villages focuses mainly on making housing affordable and on greater transparency.
The area within one kilometer along the entire length of the Sardar Patel Ring Road on its side away from the city has been declared ‘affordable zone’ with Floor Space Index (FSI) of four. Further, the draft DP proposes a high-density zone in eastern Ahmedabad which will also have an FSI of four.
Of the 50 lakh affordable houses that the state government has promised to build in Gujarat, 28 lakh are expected to come up in urban areas. AUDA has declared the special affordable zone along the Sardar Patel Ring Road in line with the state government’s vision.
The development authority has proposed FSI of four for houses in this zone with unit area of 36 square meter to 80 square meter.
“If half the development takes place in 76 sq km area of affordable zone, around 15 lakh affordable houses can come up,” said D Thara, chief executive officer of AUDA.
Similarly, a high density zone with FSI of four has also been declared in the eastern part of the city between the national highway and the 132-feet ring road.
“It will make 1076.82 hectare land available for the affordable housing segment in the city. In this transit corridor, the metro and the BRTS will be at a walking distance for the people,” said Thara.
The new DP also envisages a high density zone along the BRTS and Metro routes as FSI of four has been provided in the area within 200 metres of both sides of the transit corridor. Moreover, paid FSI in R-1 zone has been increased from 0.45 to 0.90, while in R-2 zone paid FSI of 0.6 will be available. Earlier there was no provision for paid FSI in R-2 zone.
AUDA has also given volumetric FSI and special General Development Control Regulations (GRCR) for the Sabarmati riverfront. There will be no height restrictions on structures here except those mandated by the Airport Authority of India, said Thara.
The AUDA has also declared the area from Ellisbridge to Usmanpura (on Ashram Road) and from Gandhibridge to Dudheshwar Bridge in the eastern part of the walled city as Central Business District (CBD).
It has permitted 5.4 FSI in the CBD which will also be available to existing structures provided they have parking facility and strong foundations.
However, the ongoing development projects will not be able to get the benefit of the new GDCR in the affordable zone as well as the high-density transit corridor. Further, developers will have to pay 40% of jantri rates for additional FSI.
For example, a plot in the BRTS corridor in Khokhra that falls under R-1 zone, a developer will get 1.8 FSI free but he will have to pay for 2.2 FSI to use the total permissible FSI of four.
