27 Aug 2020
Gujarat permits skyscrapers above 70 floors
Gujarat’s Chief Minister, Vijay Rupani, cleared way for the construction of buildings exceeding 70 floors. A new set of rules have been prepared for these skyscrapers that permit the construction of more than 70 floors, compared to the present limit of 23-22. floors. It should have a minimum 30 meters wide adjoining road, with the minimum plot size for buildings that are 2500 square meters high being 100-150 meters. For buildings that are higher than 150 square meters, 3500 square meters is the minimum plot size. Floor Space Index (FSI) is a ratio of the built-up area of a building to the total size of the plot. The extent of construction on a plot depends upon this ratio, which has been hiked to 5.4 by the State Government. Although Premium FSI will be available on a chargeable basis, that is around 50 per cent of the Jantri rate of nonagricultural land, as reported. It is mandatory to have a Vent Tunnel Test, a proper Disaster Management Plan, and an Electric Charging facility in the parking zone of these new buildings.
The above-stated rules will be applicable to buildings taller than 100 meters, with an aspect ratio of 1:9, and to the D1 category in Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA), Surat (SUDA), Vadodara (VUDA), Rajkot (RUDA), and Gandhinagar (GUDA), where the permissible base FSI is equal to or more than 1.2. CGDCR-2017 will contain the provisions for the construction of these skyscrapers.
Being constructed in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, and Gandhinagar, these buildings can be utilised for various purposes like residential, commercial, and recreational purposes or a combination of the same. The project intends to highlight Gujarat on the global map on par with UAE and Singapore — places known for skyscrapers. At present, Gujarat’s tallest buildings are GIFT-One and GIFT-Two (28 floors) located in the GIFT-City.
A Special Technical Committee (STC) will be formed chaired by the Additional Chief Secretary or Principal Secretary or Secretary to the Urban Development & Urban Housing Department, Government of Gujarat. The rest of the five members of the Committee will be academic experts each from the fields of soil mechanics, town planning, structural engineering, fire services, and a practicing registered structural engineer. A Technical Member from the Municipal Corporation or Urban Development Authority will be the member secretary of the STC. The Committee will be responsible for clearing the plan for the proposed buildings. This will be forwarded to the Competent Authority along with recommendations crucial for further action.
The Gujarat Real Estate industry has also suffered a big blow as has the rest of the country on account of the pandemic. Recently, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani unveiled a Rs 140 billion rescue plan for the industries and businesses. Some reliefs have been provided for real estate too including a Rs 1,000 crore allocation as subsidy for an estimated 160,000 affordable houses in the state including Rs 525 crore of interest subsidy on loans upto Rs 2.5 lakhs availed by shop owners and small business owners. Apart from this, Rs 350 crore allocation for 100,000 homeless tribal workers as beneficiaries of concrete houses in their native villages.
Early this year, in a first-of-its-kind decision ever made in India, the Supreme Court ordered for four skyscrapers in Kerala’s Kochi city to be demolished between January 11-12, 2020, as these structures were terms illegal owing to the fact that they had been built in violation of the Coastal Regulation Zone norms.
