GHMC tightens norms for building permits

Hyderabad: It will soon get more difficult to get building permission in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits as the corporation has decided to grant building permission only after conducting Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) for all future constructions.

The civic body has prepared the draft guidelines and the final guidelines will be ready in a week and will be sent to the traffic police for clearance. The corporation had proposed that the TIA report be mandatory six years ago. Recently, municipal administration and urban development minister K.T. Rama Rao to implement the same immediately to save city from the negative impacts of infrastructure projects.

The guidelines will apply to bigger establishments, commercial or residential complexes, and the rules will be similar to the existing rules for permitting multiplexes. These establishments will have to submit the TIA clearance report when seeking building permission. 

GHMC will have its own traffic consultant to vet the traffic impact assessment study. A senior GHMC official said the proposed TIA guidelines will take into account entry and exit paths of vehicles in gated communities and mega malls. There should not be too much stress on the surrounding civic infrastructure when big structures are built.

The official said the manual and guidelines of TIA will spell out the categories of buildings and built up area that require TIA. It will also outline where it is necessary to increase impact fee and other parameters. “Once the TIA guidelines are out, developers may be asked to contribute for road widening or junction improvement in the form of a fee or charges. The state government may also use the fee to improve the transportation network,” the official added.