No panel to give Mumbai’s tallest tower a go-ahead

The construction of the city’s tallest residential tower — which is 117 floors high — is unlikely to start soon. The project in Lower Parel, by Lodha Developers, is stuck because the state-appointed high-rise committee has not given the project the go-ahead.

The construction of the city’s tallest residential tower — which is 117 floors high — is unlikely to start soon.

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The project in Lower Parel, by Lodha Developers, is stuck because the state-appointed high-rise committee has not given the project the go-ahead. The reason: The committee became defunct on July 27.

“The high-rise committee is not in existence as it completed its five-year term on July 27. Until the state forms a new committee, the proposal will not be cleared,” said a civic official, who was a member of the committee, requesting anonymity.

The state government is vetting potential members and will take its time appointing the new panel because in May, one of the committee members, Shailesh Mahimtura, a structural engineer, was caught accepting a bribe from a developer.

“We are scrutinising the antecedents of the proposed members to ensure there’s no corruption,” said a bureaucrat from the state secretariat, requesting anonymity.

The project, planned on a 17-acre plot and expected to be ready by 2014, faced its first roadblock when the state’s environment panel said it had “unacceptably high construction area”.

It needs a nod from the environment panel as well as from the civic body before work can begin.

Abhishek Lodha managing director, Lodha Developers refused to comment.