The Maharashtra government has raised the floor space index (FSI), or the permitted development on a plot, to four times from three across the state for slum-rehabilitation projects, in line with current guidelines for the nation's commercial capital, Mumbai. The state government has modified the Unified Development Control Promotion Regulations (UDCPR) for the rest of the state to give effect to this boost in the FSI. In late 2019, the FSI for slum-rehabilitation projects in Mumbai surged to four times from the earlier three, and now, after over two years, the same has been made applicable to other parts of Maharashtra, as per a senior state government authority. The decision is likely to push projects including slum rehabilitation in other parts of the state apart from Mumbai. With the surging industrialisation and a population explosion, slums will continue to rise in volume and cause big problems. The Maharashtra government has rightly recognised this and its penetration beyond metro cities like Mumbai. The FSI policy to incentivise developers in other cities to come forward and take up slum redevelopment is a move in the right direction, Gautam Thacker, president of real estate industry body Naredco’s Progressive Neral-Karjat unit, told the media. As per Thacker, when mixed with city beautification and pride in one's place of residence, it would promote more developers to come forward and undertake such development and be a positive move toward a cleaner and safer city or town. In a proposal to enhance and bring uniformity to real estate development guidelines across the state, the government sanctioned the UDCPR in December 2020. This uniform set of regulations will fix everything from the height of buildings to the width of roads and the size of amenity spaces. The new rules apply to all municipal corporations, councils and Nagar panchayats across the state, except Mumbai and some neighbouring areas such as hill stations, eco-sensitive zones and specified corporation areas. According to the UDPCR released in December 2020, the density for slum rehabilitation projects to obtain the FSI of three was set at 500 dwellings per 2.5 acres. This permitted density has now been raised to 650 dwellings per 2.5 acres while growing the FSI to four times from three. Slum-rehabilitation officials will have the flexibility to consider projects with an even lower density of 500 dwellings per 2.5 acres to guarantee more rehabilitation projects are taken up, and slum dwellers are accommodated in such developments. For effective execution of the projects, a separate authority is likely to be set up for eight metropolitan municipalities including Thane, Kalyan, Panvel, Vasai-Virar and Bhiwandi-Nizampur. Seven municipalities and councils, including Badlapur, Ambernath Alibag, Pen, Khopoli, Matheran and Karjat, will also be a part of this separate authority. Image Source Also read: MahaRERA issues order to provide certificates to realty authority