Kerala's construction industry is in quandary. One
side, it has to tackle the exploding population which has increased the housing
demands multifold and on the other hand the new guidelines floated by the Ministry
of Environment and Forest (MoEF) over increasing the building heights. It’s
like catch-22 situation for the state as its request to increase the height of
the buildings to 15-meters has met with a series of guidelines which would
dampen the mood of the property market further.
As per MoEF guidelines, buildings that are more than
five storeys or 15-metre high should have wide roads around them. These
guidelines are applicable to Kerala, Maharashtra and Haryana. These three
states had approached the ministry for approval to increase the height limit
for buildings.
According to the guidelines, a 5-storey or 15-metre
high residential or industrial building should have a 15-metre wide road
surrounding it. Higher the building, wider the roads! For instance, a 15-storey
building should ideally have a 24-metre road around it, TOI reported.
"Considering Kerala's exploding population, if
construction and road widening are carried out as per these guidelines, the
price of land will shoot up to astronomical levels. Then hypothetically, open
spaces and paddy fields will be eaten up by construction works. As far as
Kerala's infrastructural development is concerned, only vertical growth is
possible," said Antony Kunnel, president of Confederation of Real Estate
Developers' Associations of India (CREDAI), Kerala.
The draft also proposes carrying out mock fire
drills on an annual basis on all high-rise buildings in the state. "This is
a welcome decision, and it should be followed. It will definitely reduce
casualties due to fire accidents," said Kunnel.
The draft suggestion to have a fire station within
10km radius of buildings with more than 10-storeys has also been received well.
On March 28, chief minister Oommen Chandy will take
up the issue with the concerned representatives. "We will look into it
after an official meeting with builders and concerned stake holders in the
coming weeks. These are only guidelines and can most definitely be worked on in
order to arrive at a consensus," Oommen Chandy's office told TOI.
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