PUT BENGALURU CITIZENS’ INTEREST OVER REALTORS’

BENGALURU is set for a fresh layer of development, with tweaked building bylaws kicking in.

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Despite the Supreme Court advising the state government to rethink its civic policy on vertical development and its effect on the city's severely strained infrastructure, the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) appears to be steaming ahead, brushing aside citizens' concerns. In a deal that helps the GBA, land owners and real estate developers, the government has come up with the concept of premium floor area ratio (FAR), which allows owners to buy additional building rights of up to 40 percent of the original FAR. A plump 'premium fee', calculated at 28 percent of the land guidance value, is to be paid to the GBA. Another 20 percent of the basic FAR could be added through transferable development rights,