CRZ norms amended, coastal high-rise projects to benefit the most

The skyline of many Indian coastal cities including - Chennai, Vizag, Surat, Puducherry, and Mangaluru for example, is now gearing up for a massive transformation courtesy the Union Environmental ministry which has now amended the controversial Coastal Regulation Zone (CRTZ) norms to permit the construction of high-rise buildings in CRZ II areas, which are developed areas within 500 metres of the high tide line along the coast, that fall within a city's corporation and municipal limits.

The clutch of states expected to benefit from this June 16 amendment by the environment ministry includes Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Karnataka, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The amended notification issued on June 16 is not applicable to Mumbai, Kerala and Goa though, as they were exempted from height and other building restrictions earlier in 2011.

As per the new norms, the existing Development Control Rules (DCR) which are presently applicable to the rest of the areas in the respective local bodies will now be applicable to areas falling under CRZ II. The positive impact of this move is expected to be felt by a slew of realty projects along the coast which will no longer have to face any height restrictions, will have more open space and will also be eligible for basement and stilt car parking facilities now.

On a more cautionary note, the government has however restricted the floor space index (ratio of land area to built-up area) of new developments in notified CRZ II areas, stating that buildings here would be governed by the FSI made applicable in 1991, when the central government issued a notification under the Environment Protection Act 1986 to regulate developments in coastal areas.

As part of its focus on encouraging sustainable development, the government has also made the recycling of waste water a mandatory exercise for all new real estate projects and buildings falling in the CRZ II areas.

It may be recalled that the 1991 notification notwithstanding, CRZ II areas along the coasts of several cities were under immense pressure for well over two decades due to the indiscriminate development activities undertaken by private developers in these eco-sensitive areas which subsequently resulted in the widespread destruction of precious natural resources and mangroves along such belts.

In order to curtail the rampant development of projects in such sensitive areas, the central government was forced to amend the 1991 notification in 2011, clarifying that all new developments in CRZ II areas would now be governed by DCR and FSI norms applicable on Feb 19, 1991, in the relevant regulatory agencies.
 
While a few cities and states like Mumbai, Goa and Kerala managed to get the norms relaxed in 2011 itself, other coastal states were forced to comply, leading to a lot of lobbying at the centre from 2011 to relax the norms.

Meanwhile the government's move to relax the norms has been welcomed by the developers' community across the country. Sharing his reactions, Getamber Anand, president, CREDAI opined that it would open up scarce land resources within urban areas for development, thereby making housing more affordable all.

He further added that the development of coastal areas was a common practice in most countries like the US and Japan, which encouraged construction-related activities along their many beaches.

According to realty analysts projects which were stuck or left incomplete along coastal areas due to CRTZ violations will now get a chance to head towards completion thereby helping the developer, end users and investors in the said project. "It is a positive move by the government," feels Gopal Krishnan, a realty analyst with a leading Chennai-based firm.

"Its likely to free up a lot of land in prime urban locations for development, thereby helping to bring down property prices in the long term. Chennai has witnessed a lot of redevelopment projects becoming financially unviable due to high land prices. This amendment is going to ensure a win-win situation for all the concerned stakeholders from the developer to the end user and investors," he added.