Government revives TDR idea to save heritage

By A Special ­Correspondent

Earlier this month, a news report in a leading local daily had it that the Corporation of Chennai is planning to introduce the Transfer of ­Development Rights (TDR) ­facility for owners of heritage buildings within the City. While this will no doubt come as a shot in the arm for the preservation of heritage, much will depend on the implementation of the scheme, for this is not the first time such an idea has been mooted. The bureaucracy has buried all previous attempts, ­especially when they concern heritage buildings.
The idea was first mentioned over 20 years ago when the first draft of a Heritage Act was drafted by the Town & Country Planning Department and INTACH Tamil Nadu. It was then mooted in the second ­Master Plan for Chennai made public by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA). However, that document restricted itself to a broad policy pronouncement and did not go into details. Subsequently, the concept of TDRs was used in connection with land acquisition by Chennai Metrorail ­Limited (CMRL) in the Saida­pet area. That had to do with empty plots of land that were in the way of the metro route. These were taken over at market valuations and TDRs were allotted to the erstwhile owners.

The concept of TDRs requires some explanation. The basic premise on which this operates is that owners of heritage buildings lose out on possibility of commercial/modern development of the land on which the structures stand. By way of rewarding them for preserving the past, the Government grants them TDRs – chiefly in the form of enhanced floor space index (fsi) rights. The owners can use this for building high-rise in the surrounding land or, where that is not possible, sell these TDRs to builders, who in turn can use them in structures they are putting up elsewhere. In the case of the Saidapet acquisition, for instance, the Government gave the erstwhile owners permission to build to an fsi of 2.5, with an added bonus of 0.25. TDRs abroad are like securities that can be traded. Given this incentive, it is to be hoped that owners of heritage buildings will retain and not sacrifice them for monetary benefit.
At present, however, very few or possibly none of the owners of heritage properties are even aware of such possibilities. The Government, through its somnambulant Heritage Conservation Committee (HCC), is yet to communicate with any of them about such an option. The last that many owners heard from the HCC was possibly five years ago, when a terse missive ­informed them that the Government was aware that they owned a heritage structure and that they were henceforth not to demolish, alter, or change in  any way, any of them. There  could be nothing more of a disincentive than that and most recipients have simply cut  off all maintenance, hoping that the buildings they own will fall on their own. Bharat ­Insurance Building, owned by the LIC, is a prime example of that.
Yet another issue is that most of the heritage buildings in the city are owned by the ­Government and its departments/agencies. How are these to be compensated and in what way? Making an example out of a few of them would be of ­enormous benefit in publicising the availability of TDRs. That is however not being thought of as yet. Even the Corporation’s own Ripon Buildings has not taken advantage of TDRs when it built its new annexe and which for over two years ­patiently awaited official inauguration. What we urgently need therefore are some practical rules and guidelines that can be used by owners of heritage buildings. Simply making sage pronouncements once every five years is not going to be of any benefit.

Please follow and like us: