Till now, such hotels could carry out construction on only 50% of their plots, and had to reserve the remaining half as recreational ground (RG) to be open to the public for certain hours a day. Now, they have to give the BMC only 10% of the total plot area (or 20% of the half reserved for RG).
Civic sources say this will lead to more construction and expansion of more five-star hotels around the airport. This will also help some hotels that had not made constructions on some area of the plot that had to be reserved as RG.
The change in the development control regulations will lead to generation of additional FSI for the hotel owners for expansion of their buildings or constructing new ones, sources in BMC say.
While the decision could see a rise in the number of hotel rooms, it also means recreational grounds for the public has been reduced by 90% over the years, as all these plots were marked as RG in the city’s first development plan-1967.