New buildings have to follow master plan guidelines

The Hindu 12.11.2009

New buildings have to follow master plan guidelines

Staff Correspondent

— Photo: R. Eswarraj

Making a point: Arvind Shrivastav, KUIDFC Managing Director, speaking at a special meeting of the Mangalore City Corporation on Wednesday.

MANGALORE: Those who have obtained licence for constructing buildings in the jurisdiction of the Mangalore local planning area before October 1, 2009 and have not started the construction will have to apply for fresh licence.

They will now have to construct the buildings according to the provisions of the new master plan.

Mangalore local planning area includes areas in the jurisdiction of the Mangalore City Corporation.

Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada V. Ponnuraj clarified this at a special meeting convened by Mayor M. Shankar Bhat at the city corporation here on Wednesday.

As the new master plan came into effect on October 1, all new structures would have to be built according to its guidelines, Mr. Ponnuraj said.

Those who have obtained licence and started constructing buildings before October 1 according to the erstwhile comprehensive development plan (CDP) can go ahead with the work (the master plan was earlier called the CDP).

However, those who have obtained licenses for building plans prepared according to the CDP and have not started construction as on October 1 will now have to revise the building plans. These building have to be built according to the provisions of the new master plan.

Vijayakumar Shetty, member, wanted to know if the new master plan was applicable if one or more floors were to be added to a building constructed some years ago. Mr. Ponnuraj said that the new master plan was applicable even in such cases and the builder would have to make necessary modifications.

At one point, Leader of the Opposition in the corporation council Harinath alleged that the new master plan was favourable only to those who would construct high-rise buildings.

However, the Deputy Commissioner said that he and other officials had studied the master plan and its guidelines could be adhered to even while building houses on sites measuring 20x30 ft. The Mayor said that councillors could meet Minister for Urban Development Suresh Kumar for seeking modifications in the plan. A decision to this effect could be taken in the next meeting of the council, he added.

The meeting also reviewed progress of development works being implemented in the city by the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC). Arvind Shrivastav, KUIDFC Managing Director; N. Yogish Bhat, MLA; P.G. Ramesh, Commissioner of Mangalore Urban Development Authority, and K.N. Vijayaprakash, corporation Commissioner, were present.