Pune: Developers undertaking projects on land parcels of 10,000 square meters or less will now be allowed to pay Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) for mandatory amenity space instead of surrendering land in exchange for transferable development rights (TDR) or floor space index (FSI).Under the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations (UDCPR), 5% of the land used for a large development project has to be reserved for public amenities. The land is generally acquired by the civic body through TDR or FSI.As per the proposed policy, developers of projects spread up to 10,000 square metres will now be allowed to retain the amenity space by paying its value to the civic body. The value will be calculated according to the annual statement of rates (ASR), commonly known as the ready reckoner (RR) rate.Lalit Khorbagade, deputy director of PCMC’s town planning department, told TOI that the UDCPR mandates reservation of 5% amenity space from land parcels of 20,000 square metres (two hectares) or more, as per the 7/12 extract records of 1967, used for development.However, in several cases, land covered by older 7/12 extracts has subsequently been subdivided or sold, resulting in smaller parcels being developed. “In such cases, each developer is required to provide 5% of the land for amenity space. If a project is developed on around 5,000 square metres, the amenity space will be around 250 square metres, which may not be practically useful for developing a public amenity,” he said.“Instead of allowing such land to remain unused, the developer can be permitted to use it for the project by paying an amount equivalent to its ASR value,” Khorbagade said.He clarified that the proposed provision would apply only to projects spread over up to 10,000 square metres. Larger projects would continue to be required to reserve and hand over land for amenity purposes.PCMC administration has proposed that the money collected under the new provision be kept in a separate fund. “These funds would be used only for land acquisition and related public infrastructure projects. They would not be diverted for other purposes,” a PCMC official said. He said a similar rule was already implemented by Pune Municipal Corporation.Town planner Ramchandra Gohad criticised the move and alleged that it was aimed at benefiting developers at the cost of future public amenities.“If all the land were developed and no space left for amenities, where would residents get civic schools, hospitals, markets and other public facilities? This was a wrong decision, and the municipal corporation must consider the long-term needs of the city. Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad were among the fastest-growing urban areas, and such a policy could create serious problems in the future,” he said.Gohad claimed that the earlier rules provided for a 15% reservation of land for amenities. However, under the UDCPR introduced in 2020, the requirement was revised to 5% for development of land parcels measuring 20,000 square metres or more.
