HYDERABAD: Fire safety aspects might be under scanner these days but it has not stopped the Government from giving permission for high rises relaxing the same mandatory rules. While a raging debate is on about fire safety, the municipal administration and urban development department has cleared multi-storied buildings belonging to prominent people though norms violation was evident.

Arm-twisting

The Government has apparently arm-twisted departments like Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad and Fire Services to permit these high rises. Take the case of Shaili Estates in Ameerpet where three additional floors in eight, ninth and 10th floors were "regularised".

Plus, relaxation of all round setbacks and deficiencies regarding space between two blocks was allowed. Setback relaxations for the two high rise apartment blocks range between 3.5 metres and 6.4 meters on all sides. This when Fire Services insists on 10 metres setback on all sides for such buildings.

It has also asked the builder to pay penal amount of Rs. 50 per square feet for the three additional floors constructed and payment of other dues as required under rules. He was also asked to obtain a no-objection certificate from the Fire Services. The Fire Services, too, with unusual alacrity has given provisional NOC within a day after a Government order was issued "condoning" deficiencies in open spaces even while noting that its first NOC was only for seven floors.

If this is a "special case", there are other "special cases" too.

A film studio in Jubilee Hills was allowed to regularise their buildings by paying little more than Rs. 18 lakhs late last year. A corporate hospital in the same area was allowed to regularise its building though height violation was noticed.

The question is whether any building can be "regularised" when no building regularisation scheme exists and when the Government had itself withdrawn relaxation powers under GO 423. In any case if it wants to relax rules why not proclaim publicly, and let everyone benefit instead of doing it selectively?

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