DDA likely to legalise 4th floor in sealing-hit areas

NEW DELHI: In a move to provide relief in the

sealing

crisis that has heated Delhi’s politics ahead of likely elections to 20 assembly seats where AAP MLAs have been disqualified, DDA is set to increase the floor area ratio (FAR) of commercial establishments that will increase ground coverage and floors.

The

Delhi Development Authority

(DDA) is likely to provide relief to “local shopping centres (LSCs)”, which were earlier known as shopcum-residential areas, by increasing the FAR from 180 to 300. This means they will get more ground coverage and floors — from the earlier three storeys to four.

The Centre is also reportedly discussing whether to invoke “larger public interest” to reduce conversion charges to help traders at risk of sealing.

The SC-appointed monitoring committee had started the sealing drive in LSCs for misuse and non-payment of conversion charges, on fresh pressure from the court.

TOI has learnt that the DDA technical committee took up the issue of increasing FAR on Tuesday and it was cleared by the panel. This has approval of the housing and urban affairs ministry since DDA is under the administrative control of the ministry. But the increase in FAR will be subject to conditions of providing parking facilities and sanction of building plans from municipal corporations, sources said.

In areas such as Lajpat Nagar, Defence Colony, Greater Kailash, Hauz Khas and several other localities, the FAR of 180 allows a three-storey building. Once the FAR is increased to 300, these properties can have four storeys.

The DDA technical committee meeting was held after Delhi LG Anil Baijal recently directed the authority to look for a possible solution. The panel has representatives from municipal corporations and Delhi government.

Since the sealing drive started, shop owners have been demanding that the government address the anomalies in the Delhi Master Plan. The FAR for commercial establishments in LSCs is less than that for shops on commercial streets and the conversion fee to change the usage from residential to commercial is far higher for LSCs in comparison to commercial streets.

Secondly, LSCs notified in the Master Plan, are allowed FAR of 180 whereas it’s 300 on streets that were notified as commercial in 2006.

Meanwhile, housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep Singh Puri held a meeting with Baijal, officials from his ministry, DDA and the municipal corporations to find a concrete solution to the ongoing crisis.

Sources said two options that the Centre is looking at are whether it can reduce the public notice period for change of land use from 30 days and whether the conversion charges can be reduced.

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