BMC concerned about Govt’s bid to increase high rises to 180 metres

MUMBAI: The BMC has conveyed its concerns about the state government’s plan to change the definition of high rises from 120 to 180 metres to the deputy director of town planning. Changing the definition will mean that builders will not have to seek permission from the civic body’s high rise committee to build structures of up to 180 metres, which is the rule now. It also means that the technical measures that require to be followed in constructing these high rises will no longer be vetted by the committee.

The BMC’s Development Plan department has sent a letter to the urban development department. “We have conveyed our concerns to the department on the issue,” said BMC commissioner Bhushan Gagrani. The state government issued the public notice to change the definition in February.

Lotan Ahire, deputy chief engineer of the BMC’s building proposals cell, said that two non-planning organisations, the Urban Design Research Institute (UDRI) and Urban Centre, had expressed reservations.

“The authorities are seeking to revise the threshold height requiring review by the Technical Committee for high-rise buildings from 120 metres to 180 metres,” said an UDRI spokesperson. “This revision is being introduced within a relatively short period of seven years since the approval of the Development Control and Promotion Regulations (DCPR) 2034 in 2018, which had previously increased the threshold from 70 meters to 120 meters.”

The spokesperson added that building height was linked to critical factors such as structural integrity, fire and life safety, provision of natural light and ventilation, and the adequacy of surrounding infrastructure, including road access and carrying capacity. “Raising the threshold height for mandatory technical scrutiny significantly dilutes the monitoring mechanisms, posing potential risks to public safety, life, and property,” he said.

Pankaj Joshi, principal director of Urban Centre, Mumbai, said there was a judgement by Justice Hemant Gokhale on high rises which had dos and don’ts on high rises and how structures had to be vetted. “We have been fighting about this issue since 2013,” he said. “As per the latest Indian Standard Code, our buildings have to be flexible structures that can cope with high winds. The buildings today are rigid structures that can withstand earthquakes, but they are not flexible.”

Firemen also have their concerns. “Any building above 70 metres require two exits and a fireman lift for evacuation,” retired chief fire officer Prabhat Rahangdale told HT. “The Maharashtra Fire and Life Safety Act has been amended to mandate 24x7 monitoring. Housing societies need to have fire safety officers and qualified personnel for monitoring, but this does not happen.”

Another retired chief officer detailed the difficulties faced by firefighters. “Some years ago, there was a fire on the 42nd floor of a Dadar high rise, and our men had to climb 42 floors with heavy pumps and extinguish it,” he said. “Our ladders can reach a height of 90 metres. Beyond that, we can’t really battle fires if the internal systems fail.”

Retired IAS officer Sanjay Ubale, who heads Bombay First, said that as Mumbai was starved of space, an increase in FSI was considered a solution by the government. “But high FSI means high population density, and hence skyscrapers should mandatorily be close to public mode of transport like railways and metros,” he said. “Less car parks should be provided to the affluent residents of high rises to force them to use public transport. Principally going upwards is a good idea but many factors need to be considered.”