How FAR would the state govt go to grant Infosys its wish

The IT giant which has acquired 300 acres of land for expansion in Sarjapura has made an application to the govt to hike the Floor Area Ratio for the campus. The existing FAR in that particular region %is 0.5, but Infy wants it raised to 2.

The state government is in a fix. It has to deal with a high-profile 'request', complying with which could involve bending the zonal regulations for a singular case.

Infosys Technologies which has acquired around 300 acres of land for its IT expansion in Sarjapur has made an application to the government to increase the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for the campus. The existing FAR in that particular region is 0.5, but Infy wants a 2 FAR.

Having passed through Industries and Commerce Department and Urban Development Department, the proposal has now reached the Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA) for its review.

The babus are a divided lot over the issue. One section sees no harm in giving in to Infy's request as there “can always be a via-media to relax any rule legally.” But qualified town planners are dead against making an exception for one company.

With other areas of Bangalore saturated with development, and with empty spaces constantly shrinking, the Anekal-Chandapura region is touted as the destination next for software companies, realty projects and commercial development. As many as 70 infotech companies are located within a radius of about 16 km from Chandapura circle.

Just 12 km from the circle, on the Sarjapura-Attibele Road, Infosys has acquired a 300-acre land for its next expansion. The area comes under the jurisdiction of Anekal Local Planning Area, which has 170 villages under 

its purview.

Infosys is waiting for a positive response from the government. Bangalore Mirror mailed its queries to Infosys on Thursday, and in the response received on Friday, Ramadas Kamath U, senior vice-president, head of Infrastructure, commercial, facilities, administration and security, and V Balakrishnan, member of the Board stated: “Yes, we have made an application to the state government to relax the FAR norms for Sarjapur as the land is costlier and availability is very limited. So far we have not heard anything from the government. Hope they will consider the request.”