Odisha Rolls Out Red Carpet For Investors With Reforms In Building Byelaws; Check Details

Bhubaneswar: The Housing and Urban Development on Wednesday notified key amendments to Odisha Town Planning and Improvement Trust (Planning and Building Standards) Rules, 2021 and Odisha Development Authorities (Planning and Building Standards) Rules, 2020.

These amendments are in line with the Economic Survey’s call for revising building norms to promote ease of doing business and reduce the cost of regulation, with a view to boost job creation and economic growth. It will come as a relief for standalone and flatted factories, specifically the MSME sector and IT/ITeS enterprises in the state, an official release said.

It further stated that the land lost to building standards has been reduced by 60% for MSMEs, creating greater opportunities for generating jobs and increasing growth.

With these reforms, Odisha has emerged as a leader in industrial land optimization, reducing compliance burdens while ensuring robust growth opportunities for entrepreneurs, startups, and global investors, it added.

The amendments are as follows:

>>> The requirement for ground coverage has been removed, parking and setbacks reduced, and the base Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for factories and IT/ITeS has been increased. As a result, plotted and flatted factories can achieve a footprint of over 70%, flatted factories can accommodate twice the number of units as before, and IT/ITeS enterprises can build more in a lesser number of floors.

>>>To attract large-scale commercial development along wider roads, incentives have been provided in the form of relaxation in Floor Area Ratio (FAR). Specifically, the base FAR for commercial developments on roads with a width of 18 metres (60 feet) or more has been increased to promote large-scale commercial growth.

>>>For all industrial buildings, restrictions on ground coverage and the requirement for purchasable FAR or TDR have been completely removed. Parking requirements for industrial buildings have been reduced to 8% from 30% to allow more industrial areas to be constructed.

“Deregulation is an idea whose time has come. These regulatory reforms will promote ease of doing business, foster innovation, help embrace new technologies, and become a source of competitive advantage for Odisha,” said Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja.

He added that the state is focusing on bringing in a fundamental change in the relationship between the regulator and the regulated, with the state shifting from the role of regulator to being a facilitator.

Principal Secretary Housing and Urban Development Usha Padhee stated that the department recognises the need to adapt global best practices to local contexts and to engage stakeholders in participatory decision-making to build trust and address resistance. “These amendments in building regulations will substantially reduce bureaucratic hurdles thus improving ease of doing business, and stimulating economic activity,” she added.