Wednesday 24 January 2018

Builder of India's tallest residential building fined Rs 162 crore for violations

The controversial project has been embroiled in litigation for the past four years after NGO Janhit Manch dragged the developer, Shree Ram Urban Infrastructure Ltd (SRUIL), to court for large-scale violations.

The developer of Palais Royale, India’s tallest residential building (294 m), will have to pay the BMC Rs 162 crore as premium and penalties for constructing a 15-storey public parking tower at Worli Naka without permissions. Municipal commissioner Ajoy Mehta last week ordered the levy after the Bombay high court directed the commissioner to decide its fate following a petition challenging its legality.

The controversial project has been embroiled in litigation for the past four years after NGO Janhit Manch dragged the developer, Shree Ram Urban Infrastructure Ltd (SRUIL), to court for large-scale violations. The NGO said the public parking tower is illegal.

Under the state government’s cross-subsidy policy, the developer received permission to build a 15-storey parking tower in 2010, which it has to hand over free of cost to the BMC for public parking. In return, the developer will receive additional construction rights in the form of incentive floor space index (FSI) for the residential tower named Palais Royale.

However in 2011, the BMC changed its policy, restricting the height of public parking lots up to four floors. By then, SRUIL had procured construction permission only up to the plinth level. However, it continued to build the entire parking tower before Janhit Manch challenged the legality on the grounds that sanction was only till the plinth level. The municipal corporation too directed the developer to build the parking tower according to the new policy (four floors).

As much as 74% of the total built-up area (5.88 lakh sq ft) of the skyscraper has been shown as fire refuge area. This was sanctioned by the then chief fire officer when the building plans were approved about eight years ago. Mehta wants the fire refuge area reduced to around 30%; Mehta's predecessor Sitaram Kunte had ordered that they be restricted to just 4% of the built-up area. Mehta also ordered that large refuge areas outside each apartment in the 56-storey tower be punctured or blocked. This will prevent flat owners from illegally amalgamating the areas -adjoining the bedroom and drawing room --to the apartments.

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