Ahmedabad Suspends Bodakdev High-Rise Approval Over TOZ Eligibility

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has suspended the development permission for a high-rise building in Bodakdev after a complaint questioned whether the project was eligible for benefits under the city’s Transit Oriented Zone (TOZ) regulations. The civic body has also issued a stop-work order at the site.

The complaint alleged that the construction plan for the project in Town Planning (TP) Scheme No. 51 was sanctioned with a Floor Space Index (FSI) of 4, even though the plot may not fall within the stipulated 200-metre TOZ boundary, according to ETRealty, citing TNN.

Following the complaint, AMC suspended the development permission with immediate effect and formally informed the Gujarat Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) about the action. The civic body has also asked the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (Auda) to carry out a fresh verification of the plot’s eligibility for TOZ benefits.

The development permission will remain suspended until Auda completes its reassessment and gives its official opinion on whether the property qualifies for the additional development rights, the report said.

The issue centres on the additional development potential available under Ahmedabad’s TOZ framework. Under the Development Plan 2021, approved in December 2014, a 200-metre buffer on either side of BRTS and Metro rail corridors was designated as a Transit Oriented Zone. Plots within the zone can receive an FSI of 4, allowing higher-density development around mass transit corridors.

Auda is responsible for preparing Local Area Plans for areas covered by the TOZ and determining whether individual plots qualify for the additional development benefits.

The property at the centre of the dispute is final plot No. 139/1 in Bodakdev TP Scheme No. 51. The scheme was originally drafted by Auda and the area now falls within AMC limits. Plans for the high-rise were sanctioned in 2025.

At the time of sanction, calculations based on the TP scheme boundaries treated the plot as being within the 200-metre TOZ radius, allowing the project to receive the higher FSI. Subsequent complaints, however, questioned whether the plot actually falls within the designated TOZ boundary.

AMC has now referred the matter back to Auda for verification. Until that process is completed, construction at the project remains on hold.

The case puts the focus on how TOZ boundaries are interpreted when determining eligibility for higher development intensity. The final decision will depend on Auda’s reassessment of the disputed plot and its formal opinion on whether the project qualifies for the TOZ benefit.