Realtors warned against 'unlimited greed'

Hyderabad: With the growing number of skyscrapers in Hyderabad, Telangana Minister for IT, Industries and MA&UD KT Rama Rao advised the builders and developers to follow self-regulation without violating the unlimited floor space index (FSI) norm for real estate sector in the city. Based on the demand, the realtors can further take transferable development rights (TDR) if required.

FSI is the maximum permissible floor area a developer can build on a particular piece of land. It varies from place to place under the rules and regulations set by the city's administration. It is limited to an extent in cities like Mumbai and Pune. However, it is unlimited across Hyderabad. An important raw material which the builder uses to develop its area beyond the permissible FSI is known as TDR.

The State government has continued the unlimited FSI rule as the builders have been suffering from various issues like demonetisation, GST and Covid-induced restrictions for the past few years. But, it has been translated as "unlimited greed" by some realtors taking a toll on basic amenities like drinking water and drainage facilities to the property buyers.

"In an acre land, around FSI of 4.5 lakh sft can be accepted but a few developers are constructing up to 10 lakh (1 million) sft and start inviting the investors. They show some thing and sell something else to the buyers. Also there is a menace of selling UDS (undivided share of land) and pre-launch sales in the city. The builders shall promote limited FSI else small builders will get into troubles," KTR said.

"Before the State government is compelled to impose restrictions on unlimited FSI, I humbly request the real estate bodies and their members in the city to have self-regulation. We will also come out with a restrictive model, which may hurt all the builders as well as the city. I understand realty is a for-profit business, but we should not kill the golden-goose-like city," he suggested.

The availability of land is limited in the cities like Hyderabad. So, many people insist for skyscrapers and vertical growth of the city to maximise the utilisation of space. "Without providing the basic things like parking, sewerage and drinking water facilities, there is no point in constructing the high-rise buildings," the minister said, urging the builders to partner with the government in developing the city.

Previously, permissions were given for 20 ft roads at layouts in some parts of Telangana. As the number of two-wheelers and four-wheelers are increasing across the State, the future generations will curse us if we regularise such projects. Without regularising them, the State government is looking for a viable solution. It plans to levy some penalties on the builders and widen the roads from those funds.