DDA approves extra FAR for warehouses, extends deadline for use conversion charges to Dec 31
The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) Tuesday approved a slew of proposals to help the business community in the capital meet the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, apart from approving proposals to make its housing projects financially viable.
The land-owning agency, during a meeting chaired by lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal, has approved a proposal to increase the ground coverage of warehouses in integrated freight complexes and wholesale markets from 30% to 40% and the floor area ratio (FAR) from 80% to 100%. This has been done as the demand for warehouses has increased as most people now prefer to do their shopping online in view of social distancing norms to contain the spread of Covid-19.
A senior DDA official, on condition of anonymity, said, “Due to changing times and introduction of numerous online shopping sites, the demand for the ‘warehouse to home’ model of business has increased, and so has the need for warehouses for various commodities.” The proposal will now be placed in the public domain for suggestions/objections before it is notified.
The DDA also approved a proposal to extend the deadline for payment of use conversion charges (which are to be paid by property owners for using a residential building for commercial purposes) and an additional FAR from June 28 to December 31, 2020.
“Chaired @Official_dda Authority meeting. Sale of 50 per cent of EWS flats of DDA quota in group housing projects simplified to avoid double stamp duty thereby reducing cost & facilitating expeditious allotment,” Baijal later tweeted.
A lot of commercial establishments were sealed in 2017 for misusing property use norms and these establishments were supposed to pay a use conversion charges to get the property de-sealed.
The pandemic, DDA officials said, has adversely impacted the real estate sector. To make its housing problems, especially in situ redevelopment projects, financially viable, the DDA has decided to give additional FAR to the builder on the remunerative component.
The senior official, quoted above, said this will help the DDA start work on 16 of its in situ redevelopment projects for which it is preparing detailed project reports. The DDA plans to redevelop 30 slum clusters as part of its in situ redevelopment policy.
Currently, in an in situ the project, the developer is supposed to construct housing on 60% of the land and use remaining land for commercial purposes to recover the cost of the project. The DDA has decided that the maximum FAR on the remunerative component will now be 300, irrespective of the land use. The FAR earlier was 200.
Another senior DDA official, also on condition of anonymity, said, “Developer entities will come forward for in situ projects only when they know they can recover the project cost. We are planning to tender five in situ redevelopment projects by the end of the year. This will help the developer entity recover the project cost.” The proposal will now be placed in the public domain for suggestions/objections before it is notified.
The land-owning agency has further simplified the allotment process for houses in EWS (economic weaker section) category. This has been done to avoid double payment of stamp duty.
Until now, 50% of EWS houses constructed by private developers were purchased by DDA for allotment to people in the EWS category. In the process, the stamp duty was being paid twice—once when the flats were sold to DDA by the builder, and then again by allottees when they purchased it from the DDA.
“The burden of the dual stamp duty was getting transferred to the beneficiary and in the process the cost of flat was rising, which was defeating the sole purpose of affordable housing,” the second DDA official said.
The DDA has now decided that the developer entity will be allowed to undertake actual transfer of property to the EWS allottee, once approved by the DDA, the second official said.
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