Aug 26, 11.

Get ready to pay more for the flat you booked in Bopal. The urban development department of the government of Gujarat has decided to levy extra charges on realtors operating in Bopal, particularly south Bopal. Now, real estate players will have to pay for getting extra 0.6 FSI (floor space index) and they are going to pass on the additional cost to the customers. Having received suggestions and objections from all the stakeholders, UDD finally declared TP-III as R-I zone along with TP-I and TP-II as R-II zone. However, it levied additional charges of 40% of jantri rate for offering 0.6 additional FSI in TP-III. So the builders will have to shell out more money to get final approval for their high-rise building plans and building usage permission for their schemes. The realtors will naturally pass on the additional cost to the customers. However, this cost will vary according to saleable area of the scheme. The realtors are of the opinion that there will not be much increase in the property rates for the customers who have already booked their flats. The increase in the price will be in the range of Rs20 to Rs50 per sq foot depending upon plot size and total marketable area. Uday Vora, managing director of HN Safal, said that the additional cost will not be around Rs20 per sq ft in Safa Parisar taking into consideration plot size and saleable area in our scheme. “We do not think customers will object to paying a little more,” said Vora. Although customers may not be willing to pay more, they will not have any other option as they would not be able to afford to get their booking cancelled as property prices have gone up sharply in the past few years. “If the customers will not pay additional money, the developers will return their original amount and seek other properties that may not be viable for them,” said sources. As the government has declared TP-II as R-II zone, the future of four schemes in this area is uncertain. Various realtors have planned and even started construction work of four high-rise residential apartment schemes in TP-II of Bopal. If the developers return money to the customers who have already booked their flats, the latter will lose interest as well as they will have to pay higher prices for new property compared to what they have already booked.