Kerala - Kochi   

`Implement revised FAR across State'

Staff Reporter

Kochi Corporation voices its concern

GRAPHICS: ki31FAR

KOCHI: The City Corporation council has urged the State Government to implement the revised Floor Area Ratio (FAR) uniformly across the State.

The special meeting of the council, convened to discuss the revised FAR proposals, voiced its concern over the usurping of the rights of the council by a group of officials.

Once the Government decided to implement the revised FAR, it should be implemented simultaneously across the State and not in Kochi alone, said C.K. Manisankar, Deputy Mayor, who presided over the council meeting.

The new proposal has lifted the restriction on the construction of two-storeyed houses on three cents of land. Earlier, the sanction of the State Government was required for constructing houses on small plots, Mr. Manisankar said.

Corporation councillors sought more time for filing objections to the proposals. Mr. Manisankar said he was unsure if they would be allowed more time. However, he said their request would be placed before the State Government.

Mr. Manisankar said the provision in the Government Order fixing the Chief Town Planner as the appellate authority for the complaints relating to FAR was unacceptable. The Mayor or a person nominated by the Mayor should be made a member of the appellate committee, he said.

The proposal of the Chief Town Planner to revise the FAR here irked the Corporation councillors who participated in the discussion. Many councillors said the right of the elected body to decide on the development pattern of the city could not be surrendered to a few officials.

N. Venugopal demanded that the new proposal be rejected. The civic body should apprise the Government of the impact of the new proposal, he said. As the city was in the process of drawing up a masterplan, any attempt to introduce regulations regarding the FAR would undermine the process, he added.

E.M. Sunilkumar, chairman of the Town Planning Standing Committee, said the new proposals were unacceptable as they undermined the development of the city.

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