Ghaziabad: The Gaur Green Avenue fire on Wednesday has become a wake-up call for the residents of high-rise gated societies and authorities across NCR. Ghaziabad Development Authority on Friday sanctioned Rs 100 crore to procure two hydraulic platforms capable of reaching 102 meters — up to 35 floors — compared with its existing platform limited to 42 meters, or 14 storeys.“We have decided to bypass the lengthy process of seeking approval from the board and decided to immediately procure the two platforms,” an official from the Authority said.The Authority acquired the hydraulic platform that could reach only 42 m in 2017 for Rs 4 crore. However, the firefighting mechanism has not been able to keep pace with the rapid growth of high-rises in the city.The city, as of now, has over 400 high-rise apartments and buildings, especially concentrated in areas: Indirapuram, Crossings Republik, Raj Nagar Extension and Sidharth Vihar. Their number is set to grow exponentially in the coming years. Under the recently approved UP Building By-laws 2025, height restrictions on buildings have been removed, allowing for vertical growth based on permissible FAR.The maximum building height for various use occupancies under plotted development, for all single- or multi-unit buildings with a plot size less than 300 square metres, was three floors with stilts up to 15 m.On plots 300 square meters and above, four storeys with stilts up to 17.5-metre height were allowed.However, building height restrictions were removed for group housing, shops, commercial units and complexes, malls, hotels, single-screen cinema, miniplex and multiplex commercial complex.A multi-storey building, or high-rise building, by definition, means a building above four storeys or exceeding 15 meters in height without stilt and 17.5 meters with stilt.
