Builders cry foul over guidelines

KOCHI: Builders in Kochi have expressed disagreement with the new guidelines laid out by the Ministry of Environment and Forests for high-rise buildings to get environmental clearance.The major reason pointed out by the builders to support their stance is the lack of infrastructure facilities in Kerala.“The guidelines are impossible to implement in Kerala, considering the pathetic infrastructure facilities available in the state.Nearly 95 per cent of the roads here are barely five metres wide.In that case, buildings higher than four stories cannot be built in the state.It will not only affect builders, but also consumers and others in society as high rises are of utmost importance for the development of the state.It will lead to a situation where development cannot progress,” said Raffi Mather, Joint Secretary, Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI) Kerala.He added that another drawback was that lack in infrastructure is not restricted to roads but also includes fire stations.“While considering the situation in Kochi, the city has only a few fire stations.But, if things are to be done as per the guidelines, Kochi will have to have nearly 300 fire stations Which is obviously a very impractical idea,” Raffi said.Builders also say that the prices of land will shoot up drastically if such stringent restrictions are put in place.“If these guidelines are to be strictly adhered to in the state, the construction of high rises can happen only along National Highways as no other roads in Kerala are of the prescribed standards.This will affect the availability and affordability of space.The result will be that only MNCs can build and own high rises or even rent spaces in high rises in the state,” said Muhammed Saleem, managing director, Asset Builders.Yasoram Builders managing director A R S Vadhyar said though the new guidelines are very good, they are highly impractical.“The level of infrastructure facilities that these guidelines demand is not available even in developed nations.For Kerala’s infrastructure to reach the required level, the governments, both centre and state, have to shell out a lot of funds, which is obviously not going to happen,” said Vadhyar.