2,400 Delhi farmhouses to be regularised

The policy will allow regularisation of farmhouses built before February 2, 2007 after payment of heavy penalty, which is yet to be fixed. Among the areas that will benefit are Neb Sarai, Ber Sarai, Mehrauli, Satbari and Chhattarpur.

The floor-area ratio of the farmhouses has been relaxed from 1% of the plot size to 15%. Violations up to 5% would attract no penalty for regularisation.

Wedding functions will now be allowed in farmhouses with a minimum area of 5 acres. Banquet halls, resorts and amusement parks, too, can be built in those spread over 5 acres. Smaller farmhouses can have health centres and naturopathy clinics.

The DDA’s policy on farmhouses had been on the backburner for over two years because of opposition from senior DDA officials as well as MLAs appointed as members of the authority. Farmhouse owners in the Capital can finally heave a sigh of relief.

The Delhi Development Authority’s (DDA) farmhouse policy, which had been pending for more than two years, was finally approved on Friday, paving way for the regularisation of about 2,400 farmhouses in Delhi.

The policy was approved in the authority’s meeting on Friday, chaired by Delhi Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna.

Farmhouses in areas such as Neb Sarai, Ber Sarai, Mehrauli, Satbari and Chhattarpur, which were built before February 2, 2007, will be regularised after paying a stiff penalty.

“Farmhouses with an area not less than one acre in the green belt, termed as country homes, have been allowed a floor area ratio (FAR) of 15%,” said Subhash Chopra, member, DDA.

“Old farmhouses with FAR ranging between 1-5% will have to pay no penalty, those with 510% FAR will pay two times the penalty and those between 1015% FAR will pay four times the penalty,” he said.

Marriage functions, which are not allowed in farmhouses currently, have now been allowed in farmhouses with an area of more than five acres, provided they follow provisions for adequate parking, the 15-metre road width, fire norms and others.

Apart from residential use, the policy also allows banquet halls, resorts and amusement parks in farmhouses with a minimum area of two hectares. Plots with smaller areas can have health centres and naturopathy clinics.

“The policy will stop harassment of farmhouse owners who are currently paying bribes, and will help generate revenue,” said Jitender Kochar, member, DDA.

“The policy has been approved and recommendations have been sent to the Urban Development Ministry,” he said.

The farmhouse policy has been pending for more than two years after it faced opposition from DDA’s non-official members and senior DDA officials.  Source>>>