Now, a nod from jail authority for arthur road developers!
Now, developers constructing within 600sqft from the Central Jail (Arthur Road Jail) wall, needs to seek approval from the Central Jail Authority too, apart from the 58 mandatory permissions required. The state home department has written to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation saying that the requisite permission must be obtained before approving a residential or commercial project.
Mumbai Terror attack’s sole surviving 26/11 terrorist Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kasab and other underworld dons are lodged in the jail and there’s a constant threat of them being attacked. The circular read, “The government has set up a committee to prepare a report on the safety of the jail and its abutting constructions. The home department has taken this step to protect the inmates.”
Incidentally, a string of projects are coming up in the Arthur Road region and developers are quite peeved with the directive as they see it as another hurdle. "The government wants more approvals. This means a delay in projects. We understand if this approval is necessary for safety purposes. But then, they should curtail other no objection certificates and approvals. Otherwise, the city will suffer on the development front," feels Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry president Paras Gundecha.
"Instead of simplifying procedures, they are making it even more complicated. Getting a new permission means creating more opportunities for corruption. It will delay the sanctioning procedure and result in slow supply of housing stock, escalating the cost of the production," said Indian Merchants Chamber chairperson Sunil Mantri.
Mantri said developers are blamed for high realty prices in Mumbai, but they don't have a choice if they want to sustain in the market.