Panaji, Jul 3 (TOI): The state government on Thursday notified the amended building regulations giving additional FAR (floor area ratio) of 20% to 4 and 5 star hotels and government-recognized educational institutions.

An additional FAR of 20% for 4 and 5 star hotels may be granted on the recommendations of a committee headed by secretary (town and country planning) and consisting of president of Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), director (tourism), a person nominated by the government from the field of architecture/engineering with chief town planner as member secretary, says the amended Goa Land Development and Building Construction (Amendment) Regulations, 2015.

As per the notification issued by the chief town planner ST Puttaraju, any existing hotel or hotel under construction or new proposals of 4 star and 5 star categories of hotels is eligible to avail this benefit.

Any other relaxations required to accommodate the additional higher FAR, such as height of building, minimum required set back and coverage may be considered by the government for buildings either existing or under advance stage of construction based on the provisions contained in Annexure XIII of the regulations.

The notification said that the maximum permissible height of the building will be relaxed for one additional floor only and will not exceed the building height of 24 mts. "The height may be relaxed by the government to 28 mts. in commercial (C-1) zone, on merit of the case, subject to fulfilling the requirement of parking, fire safety measures, etc", the notification said.

In case of existing buildings, relaxation of 5% additional coverage may be considered by the government. The calculation of 20% additional FAR will be on total net effective plot area. The requirement of access road will be as per the width specified under the Goa Land Development and Building Construction Regulations, 2010, it said.

For allowing additional FAR of up to 20 % to the education institutions, the institutes will have to have a plot area of minimum of 2,000 sq mts. The notification said that only one additional floor is allowed. The benefit cannot be availed for any leased or rented premises. Leased land with building owned by the school will be permitted provided the lease is in force for at least 10 years from the date of application, the notification said.

Structures on agricultural lands, including cultivable land, orchard land may be permitted by the government for the purpose of promoting agricultural activities. The uses permissible and the type of structure (temporary or permanent) that may be permitted are provided in Annexure XI of the regulations.