CM hints at doing away with highrise panel

In an attempt to do away with duplication and involvement of multiple authorities in granting clearances to tall buildings in Mumbai, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Friday indicated that he gradually wants to do away with the highrise committee and redefine its terms of reference.

Noting that there is an overlap between the responsibilities of the highrise committee, the environment department committee and building proposals department while handling files, Chavan said there is a need for clearly defining the terms of reference of the highrise committee and eventually do away with it. He favours the appointment of IIT experts or even foreign consortium to clear building designs instead of a committee.

"The highrise committee looks at environment, traffic and fire aspects as well. The definition of highrise itself has to be figured out. Some people say it should be 70 metres, others feel it should be 110. The idea is to eventually do away with the high rise committee," said Chavan.

The highrise committee came into force before the environment regulations were put in place and the committee for environmental clearance came into being. There is a circular from the Central government seeking to do away with high rise committees. Now, there is duplication of their work and there needs to be clear terms of reference. "If the design is faulty or they are trying to dodge the rules, we will blacklist the firm. Let the experts define the norms," said Chavan.

He recently met members of Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI) and discussed policy issues.

Speaking on other urban issues, he said the government is in the process of redefining townships wherein they want holistic development of the area with schools, business opportunities within a 100-acre region. "If anyone owns the land, they can be subsidised in a certain way and given additional FSI. More the area, additional incentives can be given," said Chavan. He said the township plan will be different for the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) and other parts of the state. Attempts are being made to address the slum problem in Mumbai and create housing stock.

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