Karnataka is raising the bar for fire safety by redefining high-rise buildings.
The urban development department, in its notification, said the new definition follows the Centre’s recommendations on regulatory requirements and the adoption of global best practices in building fire safety. Bengaluru development minister Krishna Byre Gowda said height relaxation will go a long way in facilitating ease-of-doing business. Sources said the larger objective was to help builders who were unable to use the premium floor area ratio (FAR) being sold to developers. This will help in better utilisation of the available FAR,” said past president of Credai Suresh Hari, adding in other places builders and developers were unable to use the space even with the available setbacks. Costwise, too, it will help in spreading out the area where the FAR is being utilised, Hari said, calling it a positive decision. Gowda said that it’s a move to reduce compliance burden and enhance ease of governance, rationalisation and adoption of global best practices in fire safety norms for buildings. Rigid and outdated requirements are being re-evaluated, he said, adding central govt had even identified fire certificate renewal as a recurring administrative burden. “Without considering specific building risks, imposing uniform requirements irrespective of actual risk profiles leads to repeated costs and additional documentation for applicants,” he said. Byre Gowda said high-risk category buildings such as industries, schools and hospitals are approved based on fire-safety evaluation.
“The govt was issuing premium FARs but there was no space to utilise the same. Credai, or Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India, is an apex body for private real estate developers.
