The Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI), Goa, has expressed surprise that NGOs are opposed to the Regional Plan 2021 by arguing that it accommodates the vested interest of builders and that it would promote mega housing projects in the state.
CREDAI Goa President Nilesh Salkar said that on the contrary, with the categorization of villages in VP1 and VP2 categories, reduction of FAR (floor area ratio) in the range from 50 to 60 for plots above 4,000 sq m, all development in villages will have to be necessarily low density projects with ground plus one structure. In VP 2 areas, for plots more than 4,000 sq m, FAR of up to 50% will be allowed and for an area of less than 4,000 sq m, FAR will be 60%. The height for buildings in village will be up to 9m, including stilts. The RP 2021 was notified recently.
He also rejected the allegation from citizens’ groups that roads have been proposed for the benefit of builders, terming it “baseless as roads are the primary requirement of any civilization”.
Maintaining that CREDAI Goa has reservations about the RP 2021, Salkar said that the reduction in FAR will enhance the cost of permissible FAR in villages by almost 60% and that it will also affect the interest of land owners wishing to develop their properties in villages.
He said the other implication is that it will put pressure on city lands and increase the cost of land and final price of apartments in cities.
Nevertheless, CREDAI Goa has welcomed the exercise of finalization of 2021 in the larger interest of the state saying that it has many good points. The surface utilization plans released along with RP 2021 indicate the zone of each and every survey number thereby doing away with ambiguity.
Salkar said that the concept of eco-sensitive zones is good though the state-level committee should have taken a call to segregate at least some non-tenanted and non-cultivable paddy fields adjoining the city limits and also in CRZ III areas and include them in the settlement zone in order to satisfy the rising needs of the housing and tourism industries. He said the development of growth centres in the hinterland, promotion of eco-tourism and development of micro industrial zones in villages are steps in the right direction.
CREDAI Goa has also said that many survey numbers which were settlement zones in RP 2001 have been changed to orchards or paddy fields in the new RP 2021.
