Govt mulls shrinking Lutyens' Zone in city

The Lutyens Bungalow Zone (LBZ) in the national capital may be reduced by 5.13 sq km, if a proposal in this regard is approved by the government.

As per the report submitted by Delhi Urban Art Commission (DUAC) on the behest of the Union Ministry of Urban Development, the LBZ area is proposed to be reduced by 5.13 sq km to 23.60 sq km from the present 28.73 sq km.

If the government approves the proposal then there will be relaxation in construction norms in some areas like Bengali Market, Babar Road, Golf Links where additional floor/dwelling unit within permissible height, basement in the existing residential plots will be allowed.

On a direction from Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu to put up proposals for the fresh demarcation of LBZ in public domain, the department uploaded the report on Friday on its website and has sought views from the public.

Following the request from various organisations and individuals to demarcating LBZ, the ministry has sought comments from the public, a senior UD Ministry official said.

As per the minister's direction, the DUAC report has been uploaded on the ministry's website (http://moud.gov.in) inviting comments/views/suggestions to be sent to Secretary, DUAC by post or mail (lbzguidelines@gmail.com) by October 15.

Accordingly, the DUAC now proposed to exclude areas such as Jor Bagh, Golf Links, Sunder Nagar, Bengali Market, Ashoka Road, Mandir Marg, Panchsheel Marg, Sardar Patel Marg and Chanakyapuri from LBZ area. Premises of Supreme Court of India are proposed to be included in the LBZ. 

The proposal suggests a floor area ratio (FAR) of 20 with 12.5 per cent ground coverage for residential bungalows while in the present guidelines the FAR is not specified.

Basements are proposed to be allowed only for household storage and car parking.
The overall building height shall not be more than 32 metres with up to a three-level basement for parking which will not be included in the FAR. A total of seven floors, including the ground floor is proposed to be allowed.