The Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) on Tuesday suggested several amendments in the existing building by-laws to make the city’s buildings comparable with Delhi and other cities in the National Capital Region (NCR). Forwarding 65 major amendments in the by-laws to the state government for approval, the authority has decided to promote green buildings that will be given three-star gold ratings for energy efficiency.
Such buildings will get additional floor-area ratio (FAR) of 5 per cent if they adhere to the green norms.
The authority has also proposed 1 per cent area of permissible FAR for commercial operations in group housing schemes. Commercial facilities include post-offices, ATMs and shops.
As per the existing norms, around five shops are allowed for a population of 1,000 in residential schemes.
For group housing projects, the GDA has proposed additional 5 per cent FAR for services such as lifts, ventilation, shafts, lofts and swimming pools among others. Balconies will get an additional area of 0.5 metres.
The authority has also proposed relaxation in compounding norms. In this context, it has proposed to double the “setback area” — such as the space allowed to park vehicles — in single unit plots. Those who have deviated from the norms can regularise such areas by paying an additional fee.
In a number of housing projects, the parking areas are constructed in the basement. The GDA now wishes to regularise these if such parking areas meet structural safety norms.
Building by-laws in Uttar Pradesh were formulated in 2000 and revised in 2008. The authority’s town planning department officials said the NCR Planning Board Act, 1985 has an overriding effect on all other urban development acts in the NCR region and must be enforced.
GDA Vice-Chairman Santosh Kumar Yadav said these amendments were cleared by the GDA board on Tuesday and will be forwarded for the state government for approval.
“We wish that buildings that fall in the NCR region should have services, facilities and infrastructure at par with other cities of the region,” he added.
