The new amendment states that the developers will have to obtain purchaseable FAR beforehand.

The Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) will soon adopt the latest amendment to the building by-laws of 2008 making it mandatory for builders to obtain purchaseable floor area ratio (FAR) before construction of a project commences, among others.

The authority officials said housing and urban planning department has notified the amended by-laws which will soon be adopted by the GDA.

The amendments to the 2008 by-laws were rolled out on November 30 and one of the major provisions was that developers will have to apply for purchaseable FAR at the time of obtaining permission for construction and charges will be recovered before sanctioning the layout map.

“The construction taken on account of purchaseable FAR without permission will not be compoundable,” the amended bylaws stated.

The FAR is a component which allows for constructions on a plot of land up to a limit defined in building by-laws. The purchaseable FAR is a component available over and above the regular FAR which can be availed of for carrying out more constructions and an additional charge needs to be paid to the authority.

“The GDA will adopt these amended by-laws in the next board meeting. The new amendment states that the developers will have to obtain purchaseable FAR beforehand and no compounding (regularisation on payment of charges) will be allowed later on. Such constructions, if found in violation of norms, can also be demolished besides legal action initiated by the enforcement department,” said CP Tripathi, additional secretary, GDA.

Experts in the field said the new amendment will act as a regulatory mechanism to control extra constructions.

“It is normally seen that extra flats/houses are constructed in projects/buildings and possession is given to allottees. Such constructions, when detected, fall under the unauthorised category. Currently, such constructions are getting compounded at a later stage. According to the amendment, the additional construction will have to be disclosed beforehand and payment of charges made to authority before the map is sanctioned,” said Ashish Shivpuri, GDA’s former chief architect and town planner.

Shivpuri said availing of purchaseable FAR before the building construction will also benefit homebuyers.

“There have been instances wherein homebuyers were given possession in such extra constructed flats. This gave rise to legal issues and evictions. The new amendment was a long standing demand and will ensure that all the constructed flats are built while adhering to norms,” Shivpuri said.

In 2014, residents of a high-rise in Indirapuram approached the GDA about the issue of additionally constructed flats. The authority later found that there were about 66 studio apartments and 134 flats that were additionally constructed.

In a recent case being heard by the Allahabad high court, Ghaziabad agencies were directed to reply in a matter about construction of 670 units against a limit of 536 units at a high-rise in Indirapuram.

“Earlier, most developers obtained purchaseable FAR beforehand and the rest would get it regularised by paying a charge at a later stage. The new amendment is a welcome step as it ensures that purchaseable FAR is obtained beforehand and this will ensure that constructions adhere to norms and pose no issues to homebuyers. It is also our request that such approvals are given in a timebound manner,” said Gaurav Gupta, joint secretary (North zone) of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI).