Stilt plus four floors to be allowed on affordable housing plots also

The Haryana government will also allow stilt plus four floor constructions in licensed Deen Dayal Upadhyay Jan Awas Yojana (DDJAY) colonies where service plan is approved or will be revised for building four dwelling units per plot. DDJAY was introduced to provide affordable housing scheme for economically weaker section and low-income groups in urban areas. This was stated by town and country planning minister JP Dalal on Tuesday while formally announcing state government’s decision to allow construction of stilt-plus-four floor constructions in residential areas where the layout plan for building four dwelling units per plot or accommodating density of 18 persons per plot stands approved.

More importantly, approval will be granted for constructing stilt-plus-four floors in urban areas where layout plan for building three dwelling units per plot stand approved and the plot abuts 10 metre or more wide road, subject to certain conditions. The conditions include a mutual consent agreement to be inked by the allottee with adjoining plot owners or keep the side setbacks of 1.8 metres dimension on every floor from the neighbouring plots to ensure better aeration and sunlight. Additional chief secretary, town and country planning Arun Gupta said at a briefing that around 1.68 lakh plots in Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) sectors across the urban estates will qualify for building stilt plus four floors subject to fulfilment of mutual consent agreement or the condition of having side setback of 1.8 metre on all floors.

“Thus about 61% HSVP residential plots across the state will be eligible for stilt plus four floors but only after the allottees satisfy one of the two conditions. However, at present there are hardly any HSVP sectors where layout plans for accommodating 18 persons per plot stands approved,’’ Gupta said.

The ACS said that there are about 26,000 residential plots carved across the state under 151 real estate development licenses granted under DDJAY where stilt plus four floors will be allowed only after service plan is approved for building four dwelling units per plot. The DDJAY areas have 9-metre-wide roads for access.

The minister said that to curb the practice of enclosing the stilt area, a condition shall be imposed while approving building plans and for grant of occupation certificate, that the approval of building and grant of occupation certificate shall be deemed to be withdrawn in case the area is enclosed, fully or partially.

Dalal said that plots where three dwelling units are allowed, construction of basement and transfer of load onto common wall shall not be allowed on plots where stilt plus four floor construction is permitted. The minister however said in cases where the allottees have inked a mutual consent agreement executed with adjoining plot owners, construction of basement and transfer of load onto common wall shall be allowed. Dalal said that construction of common wall will be allowed if the entire row of residential plots is taken up in one go for approval of building plans and for construction. Construction of basement will not be allowed on plots which are less than 10 meters in width and 250 square metre in area, he said.

Dalal said that that HSVP plot owners who fulfil the conditions of mutual consent or 1.8 metres side setback can also request a refund of the purchasable development rights (PDR) if they do not want to construct stilt plus four floors. This will apply to plots auctioned by HSVP with in-built purchasable floor area ratio (FAR).

“If such a plot owner does not wish to construct stilt plus four floors, they are eligible for a refund with 8% interest from the date of the refund application. This refund application can be made within 60 days from the date of the refund order issuance. Similarly, if the plot is not eligible for 3 or 4-floor construction, the allottee is eligible to get back the entire auction amount with 8% interest from the date of the refund request,’’ the minister said.

Infrastructure augmentation mechanism

The minister said that a sum of ₹1,178.95 crore has been collected in lieu of stilt plus four floor approvals by different agencies, including about ₹689 crore by the town and country planning department, ₹466 crore by HSVP, ₹2.62 crore by HSIIDC and about ₹20 crore by the urban local bodies department. This infrastructure augmentation charge (IAC) will be utilised for enhancing the infrastructure in sectors and colonies.

Web portal for information on permissions

The department will set up a web portal to address issues related to stilt plus four floor matters and to make various information public, including permissions.

A standard operating procedure has been prepared for all cases where stilt plus four floor construction has been carried out without building plan approval to date. According to these, individuals who have undertaken such unauthorised construction can apply for composition of violations to the competent authority.

Dalal said that the rates of purchasable development rights have also been increased for plots larger than 250 square metres and up to 350 square metres by 25%.