Unlimited FSI A Bane For Hyderabad

The norms related to FSI in Bengaluru are fine. But ideally, the State government should examine which kind of development is coming up at a location, what kinds of facilities are already there before granting the FSI permission - Satish BN, Founder & MD, Skydealz, tells Bizz Buzz

Bengaluru: Mega cities like Hyderabad require FSI (Floor Space Index) norms with strict limits for development of infrastructure in a planned way and such norms should be adopted in an expedited manner just like other metro cities.

“It is surprising that a metropolitan city like Hyderabad offers unlimited FSI for real estate and infrastructure sectors. Just like other metro cities- Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune and others; such norms are essential for planned development of realty sector. As Hyderabad is fast emerging as an important city for IT sector with foreign companies preferring opening of GCCs in the city, unlimited FSI will make the city unattractive for future development,” said a mid-level executive of a Bengaluru-headquartered real estate firm.

Floor Space Index (FSI) is the ratio of the total built-up area to that of the total area of the land parcel or plot on which it has been built.

While most major cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru and New Delhi have FSI limits, Hyderabad is the only prominent major Indian city that has unlimited FSI. Taking advantage of such norms, some developers are building 10 lakh sft in one acre of land instead of building only 1 lakh sft.

This has led to a situation where the city is slowly witnessing many unplanned developments with superlative profits being earned by some developers by putting the residents’ lives at risk because more structures in a limited space provide less open space. Therefore, the ability of residents’ evacuation in the face of any exigency comes down. Moreover, the response time to any exigency increases as movement of people and logistics becomes a challenge.

Experts in the know said that cities like Bengaluru follows strict FSI norms.

In Bengaluru, the FSI for residential properties ranges from 1.5 to 2.75, depending on the zone. Similarly, for commercial properties, the FSI is calculated by dividing the total built-up area by the plot area, and it ranges from 2.5 to 4.0 in the city, depending on the zone. These regulations are governed by the local civic bodies and building bye-laws.

“The norms related to FSI in Bengaluru are fine. But ideally, the State government should examine which kind of development is coming up at a location, what kinds of facilities are already there before granting the FSI permission. For instance, if permission is given for setting up a retail mail, then it should be taken into account whether there are schools or hospitals nearby. Because, such development can lead to traffic congestion or related disruption. So, social responsibility angle should be considered before granting FSI permission for any commercial development,” Satish BN, Founder & Managing Director of real estate consultancy firm, Skydealz told Bizz Buzz. “Any development- whether commercial or retail, the government agencies should consider the social infrastructure before granting permission,” he added.

What is FSI?

FSI (Floor Space Index), also known as Floor Area Ratio (FAR), is a critical parameter, which is used to measure the total built-up area of a building against the size of the plot it occupies. The FSI indicates the amount of floor space that can be constructed on a given plot by the developer. This determines the pricing of the property along with market value of the real estate in a specific locality.

The FSI norms of a specific locality determines the height and density of the building. For instance, whether an apartment building will have 5 floors or 10 floors will be determined by the FSI norm of that locality. Similarly, how much area should be put under construction, is also determined by the FSI norm. Usually, FSI norm is very useful where the land is scarce. For instance, in a CBD (central business district) of a city, FSI norm usually allows real estate developers to construct in more areas. Therefore, property value hinges on the FSI norms. The higher the FSI, the more built-up area a developer can construct within the same plot. This usually allows realty players to get better return on their investments.