Unlimited FSI set to cripple infra in Hyderabad

Bengaluru: Bengaluru, once hailed as the “IT Capital of India”, has of late been in the news for wrong reasons. From killer potholes to traffic snarls, the southern city has seen repulsive bottlenecks in its core infrastructure, belatedly questioning the wisdom of civic authorities.

Such is the situation now that many seasoned business tycoons as well as startup founders have publicly expressed their frustrations in social media.

For instance, a social media post of Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw on Bengaluru's poor roads and garbage management has sparked a political slugfest last month. Earlier, CEO and co-founder of BlackBuck Rajesh Yabaji’s post on relocating his startup to another city sparked a debate around the state of infrastructure in the so-called ‘Silicon Valley’ of the country.

All said and done, Bengaluru has strict Floor Space Index (FSI) norms. The FSI for residential properties ranges from 1.5 to 2.75 in Bengaluru, depending on the zone. Similarly, for commercial properties, it ranges from 2.5 to 4.0 in the city, depending on the zone.

The FSI, also known as Floor Area Ratio (FAR), is a critical parameter that is used to measure the total built-up area of a building against the size of the plot it occupies. The FSI is calculated by dividing the total built-up area by the plot area. In other words, FSI determines how much construction can be done in a plot of land, and what will be the free space that needs to be provided within the facility. Similarly, the height of the building ---whether it should be five or 25 floors – is determined by the FSI norm fixed by the authorities. Absence of FSI norm leads to mindless construction by property developers, leading to serious civic issues.

Experts say the Floor Space Index regulations are key to urban planning rules. These rules are formulated by local municipal bodies and are enforced to control building density, ensure infrastructure can support the development, and maintain a balance between construction, green spaces, and open areas. The specific FSI limit varies depending on the zone, property type, and local development control regulations.

All told, Bengaluru, despite having strict FSI norms, is not able to cope with the rapid development coming from the technology sector. Considering the critical civic infrastructure situation in Bengaluru, many believe that the day is not far when Hyderabad will see similar collapse of its infrastructure because the city has not even adopted FSI norms. Curiously, the city offers unlimited FSI for residential as well as commercial properties, which, experts say, will spell doom for the city.

Land prices surging in Hyderabad

Sources in the know said that land pricing in Hyderabad is consistently increasing owing to absence of FSI norms. “We are looking for land parcels in Hyderabad for developing residential projects. But current pricing is at an unrealistic level. We feel that absence of FSI is the prime reason for skyrocketing of land prices in Hyderabad,” said one of the top officials of a Bengaluru-headquartered real estate firm.

Unplanned development

Major Indian cities like Mumbai, Bengaluru, and New Delhi have FSI limits; while Hyderabad is the only prominent major city that has unlimited FSI. This has led to serious issues, particularly unplanned development.

Taking advantage of such glaring flaws, some developers are building 10 lakh sft in one acre of land, instead of building only 1 lakh sft, a real estate sector insider said. The inevitable outcome is that Hyderabad has been slowly witnessing many unplanned developments with superlative profits being earned by some developers who, perhaps wittingly, put the residents’ lives at risk.