Mumbai: With the aim of boosting tourism in the state, the Maharashtra government has decided to relax a few norms for building three, four and five star hotels.
The star category hotels will now be able to utilise 100 per cent of the additional FSI, irrespective of the area of the plot. The only condition being that the road width should be 12 to 15 metres against the earlier 18 metres.
The relaxations, which have been approved by the urban development department (UDD), are in accordance with the recommendations given in the state’s tourism policy of 2016. The condition about a minimum plot area, which was 2,500 square metres, has now been removed.
“In order to boost up tourism activities in Maharashtra, various schemes and fiscal incentives have been proposed. This will attract maximum investment in the sector and generate employment opportunities and growth rate also,” an official from the urban development department said.
The proposal has relaxed the minimum plot area norms for star hotels. “Earlier, for four and five star hotels, the minimum plot required was 2,500 square metres and for three stars it was 1,000 square metres,” the UDD notification said.
It further said, “An additional FSI upto 100 per cent is permissible for one to three star category hotels irrespective of plot size but with a road of minimum 12 metre width. Additional FSI upto 200 per cent is permissible for one to three star category hotels irrespective of plot size but on road of minimum 15 metre width.”
The new changes have also proposed star category hotel projects can be classified as mega or ultra mega projects as per the Maharashtra 2016 tourism policy. For these projects, additional 20 per cent of FSI can be used by charging premium for tourism support activities. All concessions given to the star hotels are also applicable for these projects.
The UDD has kept the new changes open for suggestions and objections for a month. The official said that the changes will be finalised after a month’s time considering the opinion from the public and experts.
