DTCP allows extra construction in stilt parking areas in Gurugram

GURUGRAM: Accepting a long-pending demand of real estate developers, the department of town and country planning (DTCP) has finally decided to allow construction in stilt parking areas.

But the permission comes with two conditions — the additional construction will be included in the floor area ratio and that parking norms be fulfilled.

The developers have long been demanding permissions for building guard rooms and toilets in stilt parking areas and that this additional construction in common areas be excluded from the FAR, as they get less space to construct flats.

FAR is the ratio of a building’s total floor area (gross floor area) to the size of the piece of land on which it is built. Last year, the planning department had increased the FAR of plots measuring 300 square yards to 264. For bigger plots, the FAR was 240. The move followed a demand from the association of developers and plot owners.

District town planner RS Batth told TOI that the state government has approved the long-pending demand of developers, in the absence of which there have been several violations in the past. “The government has invited objections and suggestions from the public. Based on the response, it will be taken up by the department.”

Ramesh Singla, president of Gurgaon Home Developers and Plot Owners’ Association, said, “It is a great move by the department as it has allowed construction in 20 sq metre area in stilt, but it should be free from FAR, because it is part of amenities.”

“At present, only stilt parking and basements are excluded from the calculation of FAR. We are demanding that lifts and staircases are also excluded as these, too, are in common areas,” he said.

Singla said many buildings were sealed in the past, where the property owners had carried out construction in the stilt parking area. “This move will offer the much-needed relief to developers and property owners, who have long been facing difficulty in arranging accommodations for guards and attendants on the premises.”

Batth said those structures, constructed as per old norms, can now apply to the department. “We may permit additional construction after reviewing the structure and issue a fresh occupation certificate,” he added.