•KIADB’s historic move paves way for maximum benefit of industrial sites
- •Land utilization in industrial sites increased from 65% to 75%
- •Surface parking space reduced from 5% to 3%
- Setback space to be left on all four sides of the building reduced
- •Employee accommodation, industrial township development also possible
Bengaluru:
The Department of Large and Medium Industries has made the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) in industrial sites industrial-friendly in a major reform move. An official order has been issued in this regard. With this government move, industrial and residential real estate activities will flourish in the industrial areas developed by KIADB, said Minister for Large Industries M B Patil.
Giving information about this, he said, “Till now, only 65 percent of the land in industrial sites was allowed to be used for industrial building construction. Now we have increased it to 75 percent. This step of the government is historic and will avoid acquiring more and more land for industries. As a result, the burden of having to pay exorbitant amounts for the land required to set up their industries will come down. On the other hand, the farmers’ land will also remain with them for the most part. This is an example of a smooth transaction culture,” he said.
There were many obstacles for investors in the old FAR rate that existed till now. For example, if an industry was given 10 acres of land, they could use only six and a half acres of it. The remaining space had to be left for surface parking, setbacks on all four sides of the building, etc. He informed that this has now been significantly reduced.
Till now, 7 m. For the purpose of set-back in tall industrial buildings, 1.5 m in front, 1 m each on the rear, left and right sides. Space was to be left. Now, 1.5 m in front and 1 m on any one side (left/right) is sufficient. Similarly, for 15 m tall buildings, 3 to 10 m in front and 1.5 m to 8 m in the remaining three sides were to be left empty. Now this has been reduced to 2 to 6 m and 1.5 m to 6 m respectively, he said.
In the old rules, the development of employee accommodation and industrial township development was restricted. Under the revised F.A.R., 15% of the area of general industrial plots will be allowed for accommodation and 10% of the area of industrial plots with an area of at least 50 acres will be allowed for construction of residential and commercial buildings. Similarly, he explained that now only 2% of the space in general industrial sites and data centers and 3% in warehousing and logistics industries is enough for parking.
Providing land for industries is a challenging task. The main reason for this is the low availability of land. Now the FAR has been changed keeping in mind the interests of industries. This will provide an opportunity for vertical development of industrial areas. In addition, he explained that the construction of industries, economic growth and maximum job creation can be achieved with less land.
•Reduction in reserved space for parking
•The amount of space that had to be left for parking has been reduced significantly. Earlier, 5% of the total area of an industrial site had to be reserved for parking. However, now it has been reduced to 3%, which will be more convenient for entrepreneurs, explains Patil.
KIADB has developed industrial areas in thousands of acres of land in many parts of the state. As per the new rules, the FAR has been increased to 5.2 in premium grade industrial areas. These rules will be applicable to industrial areas, special investment zones (SEZs), single-unit complexes, residential and commercial building projects within industrial areas, he said.
The FAR rate is decided based on the width of the roads in industrial areas. In industrial areas beyond 30 m. wide roads, till now only 3.25 per cent FAR was allowed. Now it has been increased to 5.2. Similarly, in areas with roads of 24 to 30 m. wide, it has been increased to 4.8, in areas with roads of 18 to 24 m. wide roads, it has been increased to 4 and in areas with roads of 12 to 18 m. wide roads, it has been increased to 3.6. Patil said that the FAR rate has been revised from 2.45 to 2.8 in areas where roads are less than 12 m wide.
Benefits for farmers too
Land acquisition can be reduced due to the revised rules. In addition, some farmers who lose land will get developed land as compensation instead of cash compensation, which will benefit them more. Minister M.B. Patil explained that since there is scope for construction of larger buildings, it will naturally benefit farmers too.
