Housing policy tweaked to permit more flats per acre
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, July 22
The Punjab Housing Department has tweaked its “Affordable Housing Policy”, giving additional incentives, including allowing more flats, increased saleable area, less parking and better floor area ratio (FAR).
Key Takeaways Of Affordable Housing Policy
- Policy applicable to residential and mixed land use zones in master plans as well as up to an area of 3 km around municipal limit situated outside master plan
- A minimum of 5 acres is required for plotted/mixed plotted colony, while for the purpose of developing group housing, two acres is required
Maximum plot size for construction of affordable houses has been capped at 150 sq yd while for EWS it will be 100 sq yd
AdvertisementIt is mandatory to keep 10 per cent of the total number of residential flats reserved for EWS
In the tweaked policy, the department by doing away with density norm has allowed promoters to raise up to 130 flats per acre, compared to 60 flats permissible in the previous policy.
“This has been achieved by allowing a realistic 60 per cent saleable area, removing mandatory school, dispensary and religious site and instead giving a community centre. Moreover, an FAR of 1:3 for group housing socities,” said a senior official of the department.
Sarvjit Singh, Secretary, Housing, said the policy would give a secure alternative to people who get trapped in illegal colonies.
The department has reduced saleable area from 65 per cent to 60 per cent and increased green areas from 6 per cent to 8 per cent of the project area.
Clearing misconception about reduction in saleable area, an official said, “In the earlier policy, actual saleable area came to near 55 per cent against 65 allowed on papers. Now, with more incentives, the actual saleable area will be 60 per cent,” said a senior official in the town planning wing.
In case of parking, equivalent car space (ECS) for a 600 sq yd plot has been reduced to 0.5 ECS from 1 ECS.
For a plot above 600 sq yd and up to 900 sq yd, an ECS of one has been allowed in the tweaked policy.
Explaining the new policy, an official said unplanned growth was happening on the outskirts of towns and this policy would help in curtailing it.
For areas under SAS Nagar Master Plan, a minimum 25 acres and 10 acres and for New Chandigarh Master Plan minimum 100 acres and five acres are required, respectively.
At present, the department has prepared a master plan of only 44 of the 156 towns.
