NOIDA: The Uttar Pradesh government is set to eliminate limits on ground coverage and increase the Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for industrial, residential, and commercial projects. This initiative aims to facilitate both vertical and horizontal growth through the introduction of new uniform building bylaws for the Noida, Greater Noida, and YEIDA industrial development authorities. The aim is to simplify construction regulations, stimulate investment, and resolve ambiguities arising from varying rules across jurisdictions.
The proposed regulations are informed by a comparative analysis of bylaws from states including Telangana, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Odisha, along with best practices from Singapore, Japan, and Hong Kong. The study highlights that competing regions generally impose minimal restrictions on coverage and height, with FAR mainly tied to road widths.
Currently, industries can utilize only 35-60% of their plots, housing projects are allowed 35-40%, and institutional and commercial developments range from 30-60%. In contrast, the Awas Vikas regulations do not impose such constraints. Following this more flexible framework, the new bylaws seek to abolish ground coverage limitations entirely. Instead, developers will be free to utilize all available land after fulfilling necessary requirements for setbacks, parking, and open spaces.
“This modification will provide developers increased flexibility in land use, particularly for extensive industrial clusters and high-density housing projects,” said a senior state official.
In addition to removing ground coverage limitations, the new bylaws suggest raising the FAR—the ratio of constructed area to plot size.
FAR currently varies considerably by land use categories: ranging from 0.6–2 for industrial zones, 2.75–3.5 for housing, 0.8–2.75 for institutional use, and 1.2–4 for commercial ventures.
The revised draft aligns more closely with Awas Vikas standards while even expanding them. Industries will be allowed a FAR of 2.5-3, group housing 3.5, institutional spaces 1.2-3, and commercial projects 1.5-4. Officials indicated that these heightened FAR provisions would incentivize vertical expansion, enhance project viability, and support higher-density developments in high-demand areas like Noida and Greater Noida.
The state-level review panel also identified significant relaxations in setbacks, building heights, parking, and landscaping requirements.
Setback requirements—the mandatory distance between a building and the plot boundary—have been substantially streamlined, with distances fixed between three and nine meters based on plot size. Currently, industrial authority bylaws demand setbacks up to 16 meters for larger plots, in contrast to the 3–15 meter requirement under Awas Vikas regulations. Officials noted that this change would open up additional buildable space while ensuring fundamental safety, ventilation, and fire clearance needs are addressed.
Parking requirements are also undergoing rationalization. Presently, commercial projects are required to provide one parking space for every 30-100 sqm of FAR; institutional projects need one per 22-100 sqm, while industries require one for every 100 sqm. Group housing has a requirement of 1.25 equivalent car spaces (ECS) per 100 sqm.
The new guidelines simplify this by standardizing industrial parking at one space per 300 sqm, group housing at 1-1.5 spaces per unit, institutional at one per 85-200 sqm, and commercial at one per 50-500 sqm. This broader range is expected to decrease the overall allocation of land for parking and lower project costs, officials stated.
The draft also reduces landscaping requirements. Current industrial regulations mandate keeping 25-50% of land as green space, while Awas Vikas only requires 10-15%. The new proposal suggests a range of 5-10%, with added tree-planting obligations at the layout level to ensure basic greenery. Another notable relaxation includes the removal of height restrictions; previous regulations capped certain industrial and institutional projects at 10-24 meters. The new guidelines, modeled on Awas Vikas, eliminate these caps unless specific aviation safety or heritage regulations apply, such as near the Noida airport. Such changes are anticipated to promote more high-rise and vertical developments in the region.
The three industrial authorities in the NCR, functioning under the UP Industrial Area Development Act of 1976, have submitted the draft reports to Invest UP, which is scheduled to convene on Thursday.
Officials believe these recommendations aim to standardize the nine industrial authorities—including Noida, Greater Noida, YEIDA, and others—currently operating under disparate bylaws, which lead to delays and confusion.
“Streamlined, investment-friendly regulations will minimize disputes, expedite approvals, and enhance project viability,” a senior state planning official remarked.
In July, the state approved similar bylaws for urban development authorities established under the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act of 1973, and the Uttar Pradesh Housing and Development Board, which operates under the Uttar Pradesh Awas Evam Vikas Parishad Act of 1965.
