Buildings up to 40 storeys may not need high-rise panel nod :Hindustan Times

Civic chief seeks permission to do away with time-consuming procedure

MUMBAI: In a move is set to change the city’s skyline, civic chief Ajoy Mehta has proposed relaxing the procedure involving the construction of high-rises.

If the state government agrees to the proposal, the construction of buildings of up to 120m (approximately 40 storeys) will not require the permission from the high-rise committee.

In a letter to the urban development department ( UDD) on July 2, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) chief suggested redefining the permissions for high-rises from the present 70m (around 23 storeys) to 120m.

“This step will ensure a hassle-free procedure for permissions to construct buildings up to 120m. As soon as we get the nod from UD department, the new rule will come into force,” Mehta told HT.

This means buildings of up to 40 storeys can be constructed without permission from the high-rise committee, which is a time-consuming procedure. According to the existing rule, proposals for buildings that more than 70m are forwarded to the committee, which was formed to assess and monitor tall structures coming up in the city.

The letter also mentioned several suggestions made by the Maharashtra Chambers of Housing Industry (MHCI). It also said that for proposed structures between 120m and 200m, a peer review of structural design may be insisted from reputed technological institutions such as IIT-B or VJTI.

Further, for buildings above 200m, the peer review should be done by specific international institutes.

A senior officer from development plan (DP) department, on condition of anonymity, said, “This move will help cutting down the unnecessary procedures for permissions with respect to buildings having height of 120m making it easier.”

“The proposal was under consideration from some time but now the commissioner has written a letter to the UD department for issuing the required directions. We are waiting for a final approval from them and once the notification is made, we will check the guidelines and issue the directives,” the official added.