MUMBAI: The state government has assured that it will consider issuing directives regarding allotting 30% of ground area for water percolation, out of the parking space allocated within the housing society's premises while constructing building structure. Due to concretization, there is little scope for rain water to percolate in the surface which leads to water logging and subsequent rise in temperature level.

A study by a Congress MLC Anant Gadgil, who is an architect by profession, has claimed that about 10 lakh sq ft land has been covered either by tiles of paver blocks within the society premise.

"Most of the housing societies in the city have parking space covered with cement concrete or paver blocks leading to water logging during monsoon and subsequent increase in the temperature as well. The government should prohibit covering parking space as whole and should instruct authorities to compel housing societies for maintaining at least 30% of the parking space with soil and not cover with cement so that rain water could percolate," explained Gadgil.

"While constructing a building with parking space of a 5000 sq ft area, at least 1500 sq ft should be left open without covering with cement out of the 3,500 sq ft plot allotted to the parking space,"
demanded MLC.

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court has directed the Indian Railways to formulate a policy for putting up hoardings on its properties that takes into consideration the safety of the public.
A division bench of Justice Bhushan Gavai and Justice Sandeep Shinde passed the orders while thwarting a bid by the BMC to collect "advertisement tax" for the hoardings that are put up on railway land but face public roads.

There are 225 such hoardings on lands owned by Central Railways and 240 on lands owned by Western Railways that reportedly earn over Rs 60 crore revenue annually. The court held that BMC permission was not needed for the hoardings on railway land and neither could the corporation collect a "fee" from the hoarding owners. The bench, however, expressed concern over the haphazard manner in which hoardings are put up.

"We are of the considered view that erection of hoardings in haphazard manner thereby endangering the safety of citizens would not be in the larger public interest," said the division bench. It gave the railways six months to come up with a policy "for regulating the hoardings on the railway properties, after taking into consideration various statutory provisions, so as to ensure that the hoardings are not erected in haphazard manner, that there is no overcrowding of the hoardings and that the safety of citizens is not endangered." The judges said they would appreciate it if the railways involved the BMC while framing a policy for the city.