Transferable Development Rights - Challenges & Prospects for Urban Infra Transition
Vinod Behl
Though the concept of TDR (Transferable Development Rights), largely aimed at improving the financial status of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) with a view to boost urban infra, is quite old, yet only a few states have adopted it as a policy, and with just a handful of success stories.
At the global level, TDR has been used as a policy measure for optimising cost of land acquisition and to counter the restrictive Floor Space Index (FSI) or Built Up Area (BUA). In India, TDR policy has been introduced by some states by amending the relevant Municipal/Town Planning Act for building rules as an incentive for various public purposes related to infrastructure development. These include development and preservation of parks, playgrounds, water bodies, development of roads, strengthening of trunk infra, development of public parking, city-level facilities, slum rehabilitation, public housing redevelopment, development of affordable housing, and preservation of historical buildings and heritage structures.