Kolkata: KMC’s municipal building committee (MBC), which clears proposals for large constructions, is scheduled to resume its meetings next week after remaining dormant for over eight months. The proposals for over 300 projects, at least 20 of them luxury residential complexes, have been stuck due to the suspended meetings.The building plan for any proposed construction on an area of 500 sq m or 7.5 cottah and above has to be approved by the MBC. As the committee never met after the Assembly elections were announced, construction of such buildings could not take off so far. Apart from that, the committee’s nod is also needed for any non-residential building, irrespective of its height or land area, as well as for new buildings coming up in place of old dilapidated houses with many tenants.“The committee’s meetings are likely to resume next week. The first meeting will possibly be held on Saturday,” said a KMC official.Welcoming the move, Sushil Mohta, president of real estate developers’ body CREDAI’s Bengal chapter, said, “Projects of many of our members have been stuck. The meeting will be the first step towards the resumption of work, which will help construction labourers, who have been without employment with projects not taking off. Customers, too, will benefit. The inventory is drying up. They will have more options now if new projects are approved.”TOI had earlier reported that the deadlock halted approvals for several categories of projects, including commercial developments, residential projects on 500-sqm plots, hospitals, educational institutes and constructions on corner plots. Only smaller projects, ones that are on areas less than 500 sq m, have been receiving approvals from KMC, the clearances being granted by boroughs concerned. But larger projects need sanction from the MBC, which includes police and fire officers.Resumption of large realty projects would mean revenue for KMC, too, as building plan sanction fees for large residential projects ran into crores, said an official.The real estate sector was also hit by other problems in the past few months. Projects, even the ones already approved by KMC, were delayed by a glitch on the WBRERA website, as a result of which builders could not update mandatory quarterly progress reports on time.
