The ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) has issued a new set of rules for building high rises. The guidelines relate to height of buildings, adequacy of fire-fighting facilities, width of the road and distance from the fire station, among other requirements.
This is the first time the ministry has come up with such guidelines linked to skyscrapers.
The Environmental Appraisal Committee (EAC) is required to follow the guidelines while granting clearances to projects. The guidelines would be implemented with immediate effect and state-level appraisal committees have been informed about it.
“The EAC had identified some skyscrapers in Kerala which did not have evacuation plans. The recommendations were framed after visiting those projects,” said an environment ministry official.
| BUILDING ROAD TO SAFETY Minimum width of the road | ||
| Height of building |
Width (in m) | |
Distance (in km)
minutes driving
The EAC has recommended the height of the building be linked with the width of the road on which the proposed building is to be located and stipulated the distance of the fire station from the building.
"The new guidelines are mostly to do with the safety and security of the occupants. Most builders do take additional safety precautions in case of high-rises," said R R Singh, director general of the National Real Estate Development Council. "I have not read the fine print, so, I can’t talk about the financial impact on the builders. But overall, such guidelines are welcome.”
At present, the civil aviation ministry gives permissions related to the height of a building.
The EAC also stressed the need for mandatory drills and availability of no objection certificates from the departments concerned before the start of construction and occupancy.
"The guidelines are welcome, but everything boils down to how it is reviewed and monitored. In the absence of a proper monitoring mechanism, this will be just another condition on paper," said Sakshi Dasgupta, deputy project manager of sustainability building programme of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).
“While the guidelines state the state-level appraisal committee would be responsible for review, there have seen instances where clearances have been granted by state-level authorities to project proponents even in the absence of no-objection certificates," she pointed out.
