Planners fear premium FSI won’t reduce realty prices

PUNE: Urban

planners

and developers feel that the

premium

Floor Space Index (FSI) will not have any impact on the city’s

realty

sector and property rates will not see a drop.

Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) officials, however, argued that the additional FSI will help customers get houses at comparatively low

prices

.

The state government has announced that residential and mix-use properties will get additional FSI by paying 50% more charges as compared to the Ready Reckoner (RR) rates. Commercial properties and industrial buildings will have to pay 60% and 50%additional charges, respectively, to get the extra FSI.

“Of course there is a need of more FSI in market. Credai wants the government to allow ‘paid FSI’ in all cities, irrespective of their grades. This will improve the state and the PMC’s revenue. For the developers, it will be a smooth system to get the additional FSI,” Credai-Maharashtra president Shantilal Kataria said.

“It is, however, difficult to predict at this juncture if the realty prices will be affected. The impact of the premium FSI can be assessed in long term. As of now, there will be no decline in the project prices,” he added.

Urban planner Aneeta Gokhale-Benninger said, “ The state government must understand that everybody is not living in Mumbai, where there is a dearth of land. We don’t need premium FSI in Pune. It will only result in congesting mid-city areas such as Deccan Gymkhana, where some rich people will be able to buy houses and office spaces. There is no question of the premium FSI helping the affordable housing sector. It will be used where land value is very high.”

She added that there was no need to follow the European model of Central Business District (CDB). “We always had mixed land use. FSI must be distributed across the city. In stead of the mid-city area, the government must give more FSI in outer city areas, such as Dhankawadi,” she said.

City engineer Prashant Waghmare said the premium FSI will ultimately lead to reduction in realty prices. “The state government has already facilitated many citizens’ dream to own a home in the city by granting more FSI in the Development Control (DC) rules,” he said.

As per the DC rules, a minimum FSI of 1.50 has been allotted for development in congested areas where the road width is 9m. The maximum 3 FSI will be allowed for development where the road width is 30m and above. In non-congested areas, the FSI of 1.10 will be permitted.

Some government officials admitted that the PMC and the state will be benefitted as the premium FSI revenue will be shared between them.

“The builders will pass on the premium FSI cost to the buyers. Ultimately, it is the consumer who will have to pay,” an official said.