The Times of India  12.08.2010

Extra FSI proposed to boost heritage

AHMEDABAD: Heritage property owners in the walled city may soon be able to sell FSI in western parts of Ahmedabad for lucrative prices.

This is one of the radical norms which may become part of the state's Built Heritage Policy to fan heritage conservation in the city. The first draft of the policy was recently submitted to the state government for approval.

The policy is aimed at giving a headstart to cities like Ahmedabad that are vying for Unesco's world heritage city status. The policy is a prerequisite for staking the claim.

"As of now, heritage property owners do not have permission to make any kind of changes to the heritage structures. This norm, once cleared by the state government, will mean that owners of heritage properties will get an extra FSI which they can either sell to a builder or even use to construct buildings of their own in other parts of the city," said PK Ghosh, chairman of drafting committee, set up by Gujarat Urban Development Corporation (GUDC) in 2009. Ghosh is a former commissioner of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC).

The other members of the committee are Ajay Kumar Chaudhary, an IPS officer, and DH Brahmbhatt, municipal commissioner of Rajkot. Many eminent historians and architecture experts are contributing as consultants.

The extra FSI will translate into taller buildings and more built-up area. For instance, a heritage property owner staying in walled city of Ahmedabad will get a chance to use an extra FSI allotted to him to build a house in other parts of the city demarcated by civic body such as Satellite or Thaltej. "Permission to use this benefit will be granted on a case to case basis by heritage cells in municipal bodies or collectorate," said Ghosh.

He told TOI, "Focus of the policy is to make heritage conservation sustainable and more appealing for property owners as well as heritage conservationists."

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Benefits galore

There are other largesse too for the heritage property owners. They will also be permitted to change the building use (BU) permission. This means that property owners will be allowed to run commercial ventures from the heritage structures, provided the heritage committee is agreeable to the idea. For this, the heritage property owner will not have to pay the extra mandatory tax associated with change in BU. According to the first draft of the Built Heritage Policy, submitted last week, heritage property owners should also be allowed exemption from paying property tax and up to 50 per cent exemption in local taxes too.

Heritage Pkg: Component II

Creating awareness is key: Experts

Beneficiaries want more financial incentives

Parth Shastri | tnn

Ahmedabad: Public awareness is a critical component of the Built Heritage Policy. The policy suggests information, education and communication (IEC) packages to various age groups right from the school level. It also covers traditional knowledge of masonry, woodwork and use of building materials.

On the flip side, the heritage property owners believe that there should be more to incentives. "We have a number of heritage buildings and palaces. However, we are nowhere close to Rajasthan in tapping the full potential of our heritage structures. One of the major reasons is, we are not able to raise loans at favourable terms for development purpose. To make our palaces world class, we need huge investments. At commercial level, tax exemption and rebate schemes do not help," said Vijay Vardhan Singh, heritage palace owner at Vijaynagar.

Jagdeep Mehta, a heritage house owner from Moto Sutharwado in Ahmedabad, said financial incentives are good but to popularise the concept, it should be a joint effort.

"In cities like Agra and Delhi, old houses have bed and breakfast facility to attract foreign tourists. Here, we have houses that can host tourists but there is no way one can find it out easily. Policy makers should provide us with the framework for such activities so as to make it sustainable," he said.

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What is built heritage

According to the definition of the draft, the built heritage is a structure more than 100 years old and not falling under ASI having exceptional structural types (institutions, palaces, houses), special features (stone and wooden work, carving, painting) or special categories (public spaces, spots, statues). In short, the state intends to preserve structures with architectural or historical significance for the generations to come.
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Emphasis on Heritage Zone'

The committee has suggested demarcation of a block of heritage properties to give the feel of a bygone era. PK Ghosh, chairman of the drafting committee, told TOI that there were many places in Gujarat such as Ahmedabad and Khambhat where properties can be preserved collectively. "Feeling of an entire area is different from a solitary building or property. We can mark such streets to emphasise overall character and encourage heritage related activities there for self-sustainability," said Ghosh.

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Steps for conservation

1. Capacity building for heritage

2. Establishing the extents of heritage

3. Using the data for awareness building and tourism activities

4. Formulating a heritage vision

5. Seeing conservation along with the development plan process

6. Heritage management plan

7. GDCR changes

8. Offering of special developmental incentives

9. Actual processes of conservation

10. Post-implementation aspects