To cope with the increased demand for housing and conserve land for agriculture, Haryana Government has decided to increase the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for residential plots.
Besides, the State Government will introduce the concept of purchasable FAR over and above the existing permissible limits. FAR is the ratio of a building's total floor area (gross floor area) to the size of the piece of land upon which it is built, said an official spokesman on Wednesday.
He said that purchasable FAR would be applicable only for licensed colonies and HUDA sectors. The revenue generated through purchasable FAR will go to the concerned municipal authority for licensed colonies and projects in municipal areas.
It will go to Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) wherever it has to strengthen services due to increased density and shall be used for consequent development works that may be necessitated, said he.
The benefit of additional FAR shall be allowed after suitable amendments are made in the relevant Act or rules by the concerned authority. The ball will soon be set rolling for making necessary amendments in the relevant statutory provisions, the spokesman said.
Notably, FAR and ground coverage norms for the residential plots followed by the Department of Town and Country Planning were fixed way back in 1977. Need has been felt for revising them to cope with the ever-increasing demand for houses, especially in the urban areas of Haryana, said he.
The spokesman said that various representations, received from different organizations seeking revision of FAR or ground coverage norms, were considered genuinely for two reasons including scarce land resource and the need to intensively utilize the urban land so that land could be preserved for agriculture.