Ahmedabad's Redevelopment Incentives Don't Match Its Redevelopment Problem

Ahmedabad has a building problem. Thousands of old housing units across the city are unsafe. Some have already collapsed. 

The civic body wants redevelopment to fix this. But the incentives on the table are not big enough to match the size of the problem. That gap is a real story. It affects anyone who owns, buys, or invests in an older property in the city. 

Quick Summary 

• The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has identified more than 10,600 unsafe residential units after a citywide structural survey. 

• The South Zone has the worst numbers: 3,616 unsafe units across 15 buildings. The Central Zone follows 2587 units in 15 buildings. 

• The survey follows building collapses, including Surya Sagar Apartments in Jodhpur, Rupal Park Society in Bodakdev (2025), and Pooja Apartments in Navrangpura (2026). 

• Redevelopment in Gujarat needs 75%-member consent, which slows down decisions in large, ageing societies. 

• FSI incentives for redevelopment can go up to 4.0 under the Common GDCR, but only for certain public housing projects. Private cooperative societies often get far less FSI. A low FSI can mean there isn't enough profit left for a developer to rebuild a small old building. 

• For owners, this means redevelopment offers may be slower to arrive, or smaller, than the scale of the safety problem demands. 

What's Actually Happening in Ahmedabad Right Now 

After a series of monsoon building collapses over the last two years, AMC ran a structural safety survey across its own housing stock and older private buildings. The results were worse than expected. Over 10,600 units, spread across multiple zones, came back as structurally unsafe. 

The South Zone alone accounts for 3,616 unsafe units in 15 buildings — the highest in the city. The Central Zone, home to some of Ahmedabad's oldest residential pockets, has 2,587 unsafe units in another 15 buildings. Residents from 135 units in four buildings have already been moved out to keep them safe. 

This isn't a small, one-off issue. It's a large group of old buildings across the whole city. They were built decades ago, before today's safety rules existed, and were never rebuilt. 

Read more: Ahmedabad Industrial Zones to Shift Outside the City by 2030 

Why "Incentives" and "Opportunity" Don't Match 

Here's the gap. AMC and the state government do offer redevelopment incentives — extra Floor Space Index (FSI), Transferable Development Rights (TDR), and in some cases stamp duty relief. On paper, this should push old societies to redevelop quickly. 

three things slow it down: 

1. FSI incentives are not the same for everyone. Certain public housing redevelopment projects can get FSI up to 4.0 under the Common General Development Control Regulations (GDCR). But many private, small, cooperative societies don't automatically qualify for the same benefit. A developer needs sufficient additional buildable area to sell on the open market. That's how a project turns out to be profitable. If the incentive FSI is too low for a small plot, no developer will bid for it.  

2. Consent requirements for slow decisions. A society needs written consent from at least 75% of its members before it can proceed. This includes non-resident owners and members who have rented out their flats. Getting three out of four owners to agree, sign, and register can take months or years, especially in older societies with absentee owners. 

3. Land parcels are small and scattered. Many of the unsafe buildings identified by AMC are old societies that sit alone on their own small plot — not part of a bigger cluster. These plots are too small to attract big developers, the kind who usually go after larger schemes, like Town Planning schemes. 

Read more: AUDA Clears 14 TP Schemes: What Ahmedabad Buyers Should Know 

Zone-Wise Breakdown of Unsafe Units 

The South and Central zones cover some of the city's oldest residential belts. If you own, or are considering, a resale flat in an older society in these zones, ask directly whether the building has had a recent structural audit. 

What This Means for Different Buyers 

If you own a flat in an old society: Check whether your building has had a structural fitness audit from AMC, the Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (AUDA), or the Gujarat Housing Board. If it hasn't, or if it failed one, start the redevelopment conversation with your society early. The 75% consent rule means the earlier you start, the sooner you can move. 

If you're buying a resale flat in an older building: Ask for the building's age, its last structural audit report, and whether a redevelopment proposal is already under discussion. A building tagged unsafe can affect your home loan approval and resale value later. 

If you're an investor: Redevelopment-stage societies can offer value, but only when the incentive math works for a developer. Look for plots that are large enough, or in high-demand areas, where FSI and TDR incentives make the numbers work for a developer — not just any old building. 

Read more: BU Permission in Ahmedabad 

How Ahmedabad's Model Compares 

A 2023 Asian Development Bank (ADB) working paper on urban redevelopment looked at both cities. It found that Mumbai's cluster redevelopment model has strong potential to make small, scattered plots more attractive to developers. It works by grouping several adjoining plots into one larger scheme. 

The same paper notes that Ahmedabad's redevelopment plan for its central business district is still at an early stage by comparison. Separately, Delhi has raised the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for old cooperative group housing societies, to make their redevelopment more attractive to builders. 

Our take: Based on how Mumbai and Delhi have approached similar problems, Ahmedabad's unsafe, small-plot buildings may need either a cluster-style scheme, or a clearer FSI incentive built specifically for small, at-risk buildings. This is our analysis, not an official proposal from AMC or AUDA. 

Read more: Luxury Goes Vertical: Inside Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar's High-Rise Living Boom 

What to Watch Next 

• Whether AMC extends higher FSI incentives specifically to the 10,600+ flagged unsafe units, rather than leaving them under general redevelopment rules. 

• Whether the state introduces a cluster-style scheme for small, adjoining old plots, like Mumbai's approach. 

• Ongoing e-auctions and TP scheme approvals from AUDA, which affect how much new supply reaches the market alongside redevelopment. 

• Any RERA-related enforcement action tied to redevelopment projects, since transparency issues have come up in other builder-society dealings in the city. 

Read more: ED Tells Homebuyers to Report Builders Who Hide RERA Details or Ask for Cash 

Sources: AMC Redevelopment Survey Data, Constro Facilitator; New Rules for Redevelopment of Society in Gujarat, NoBrokerHood 

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