FSI woes: Cap on height of buildings at BKC, Wadala to stay

With the civil aviation ministry rejecting the proposal for additional radar at Panjarpol in Chembur, the high-rises at BKC and Wadala Truck Terminal will not be able to go beyond the permissible height limit.

With the civil aviation ministry rejecting the proposal for additional radar at Panjarpol in Chembur, the high-rises at Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) and Wadala Truck Terminal (WTT) will not be able to go beyond the permissible height limit.

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Currently, the city has its radar, which helps in transmission of signals for air traffic, at the airport. The height of buildings at BKC and Wadala terminal has been restricted to 90m and 100m respectively, to avoid interference with the radar signals or flight paths.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which is the special planning authority for the areas, had in March sent a proposal to the ministry, seeking removal of the caps on height.

It was then suggested that building an additional radar in Chembur could reduce the load on the current system and help remove the cap on the height of buildings in the areas, after which the MMRDA came up with the proposal.

MMRDA commissioner UPS Madan said, “As an additional radar could solve the problem, we came up with the Panjarpol proposal. However, a few days ago, the ministry informed that it was not possible. It did not even give any reason.”