UDCPR vs DCPR: Key Changes and Benefits for PMRDA

Summary : This blog explains the key differences between UDCPR and PMRDA’s DCPR and how the proposed application of UDCPR could affect development potential in the PMRDA area. It covers changes in FSI, building margins, enclosed balconies, parking requirements, and zonal benefits for industrial, agricultural, and residential plots, helping landowners, builders, developers, and architects understand the potential impact on construction costs, usable space, and land value. 

 You own land in Pune and don’t know this? You could be missing out on benefits worth lakhs of rupees! If you’re a plot owner, builder, developer, or architect, make sure you watch this video till the end.

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Hello, we earlier shared that UDCPR is soon going to be applicable for PMRDA, but we got a lot of questions and comments asking what UDCPR actually is, and what benefits it will bring once it’s applicable. We’ve already put out a video on what UDCPR means, but today we’re going to look at exactly what will change once it’s applicable, and how common people will benefit from it — so make sure you watch this video till the end. Let’s get started…

Change No. 1 – FSI

If UDCPR gets applied to the PMRDA area, the biggest change will be in FSI. (If you don’t know what FSI is, we have a video on our channel explaining that.) As per PMRDA’s DCPR, the FSI table based on respective road width has a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 2. But under UDCPR, this same FSI is a minimum of 1.10 and a maximum of 3 — and that’s not all, on top of this there’s an additional ancillary FSI of 60% for residential buildings and 80% for commercial buildings. And this is just for non-congested areas — wait till you hear the FSI for congested areas. As per PMRDA’s DCPR, in congested areas residential buildings get FSI up to 1.50 and mixed-use buildings get up to 2 — but under UDCPR, this same FSI is minimum 1.50 and maximum 3, plus a separate 60% or 80% ancillary FSI on top of that. In simple terms: on your 1,000 sq. ft. plot, under PMRDA’s DCPR you can currently construct 2,000 sq. ft., but after UDCPR you could construct up to 5,400 sq. ft. — subject to locality and front road width. Put simply, the land stays the same, but its development potential roughly doubles. And higher development potential means a higher land price and more saleable area — which naturally benefits both the land owner and the developer.

Change No. 2 – Margins

The second big change will be in margins. Under PMRDA’s DCPR, as building height increases, the side and rear margins must be left equal to H/4. For example, if your building’s height is 40 meters, as per H/4 that’s 40/4 = 10 meters that must be left on both sides and at the rear. But under UDCPR, this formula is H/5, meaning for the same building, margins of only 8 meters are needed — a difference of a full 2 meters. A 2-meter difference might sound small, but it increases the building’s floor plate by thousands of square feet, enabling more spacious planning and, importantly, a larger saleable area too.

Change No. 3 – Enclosed Balcony

Under PMRDA’s DCPR, you cannot enclose a balcony and use it as a habitable room. But under UDCPR, you can enclose a balcony and add it to a room, subject to the condition that the width of the enclosed balcony should not exceed one-third of the room’s width. This rule gives you rooms with greater width and increases usable space. Not just that — under UDCPR, even within the minimum required margins, a cantilevered balcony or terrace of up to 2 meters is allowed. What more could you ask for!

Change No. 4 – Parking

The most important thing in any project is parking planning. If a project doesn’t get the required parking space, many times additional floors don’t get permission even when the potential exists. As per PMRDA’s DCPR, you have to provide parking based on the flats’ built-up area, plus an additional 50% parking space on top of that — meaning you end up providing 150% parking space. In contrast, under UDCPR, parking is based on the flat’s carpet area, and each authority has its own multiplying factor that determines how much parking space is required. The bonus point: for the PMRDA area, the multiplying factor is 0.7, meaning you only need to provide 70% of the required parking area, plus 5% visitor parking — so where PMRDA’s DCPR requires 150% parking, you’ll now only need about 75% parking space. Many projects fail to meet parking requirements and end up needing 1–2 basements, and adding a basement increases the project’s costing, which naturally increases flat prices too — but now that won’t happen, and you’ll be able to fit more flats even in less space.

Change No. 5 – Zonal Benefits:

A) For Industrial Zone

Suppose your plot is in an industrial zone, but you want to use it for residential or commercial purposes — for that you have to pay a conversion premium. Under PMRDA’s current rules, the conversion premium provision is 20% of the land value, but once UDCPR is applied, this premium will be only 5% of the land value. This means development costs will come down, and many industrial plots that today seem financially difficult to develop could become developable in the Future.

B) For Agricultural Land

Today many people own farmland along highways, but development options are limited — because PMRDA’s DCPR states that permission for wayside amenities is granted only if the land area is at least 10,000 sq. meters, i.e., 1 hectare. But if UDCPR’s provisions related to wayside amenities get applied to PMRDA, then even on a 4,000 sq. meter (roughly 1 acre) plot, projects like petrol pumps, hotels, food courts, and commercial hubs could come up — and that too by paying just 20% premium instead of 30%.

C) For Residential Zone

Even if your plot is in a residential zone, what you can and cannot construct on it depends on the width of the road in front of it. Surprised to hear that? Yes — even within the residential zone there are subcategories: Residential Zone-R1 and Residential Zone-R2. In Residential Zone-R1, only a limited set of uses are permissible, and there are built-up area restrictions on top of that. But in Residential Zone-R2, you get all the uses allowed in R1 without any restrictions, plus several other uses are permissible too. The important question is how it’s decided whether your plot falls in R1 or R2. As per PMRDA’s DCPR, your plot is considered to be in the R2 zone only if it’s adjacent to a road that is 12 meters wide or more — only then are R2 uses allowed for you. But under UDCPR, for regional plan areas, even a plot on a road 9 meters wide or more is considered to be in the R2 zone. This means that once UDCPR is applied, even plots on smaller roads will gain greater development potential.

Conclusion

So friends, UDCPR won’t just change PMRDA’s rules — it will change the entire economics of development. FSI will increase. Margins will reduce. The floor plate will increase. Parking requirements will be reduced. Zonal uses will increase. The cost of development will come down. And there are many more such benefits that will prove to be a game-changer for development in the PMRDA area. This means that if project planning goes wrong now, the loss won’t be in lakhs — it could run into crores.