September 6, 2025: All planning authorities within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) will now be required to include a mandatory condition in development permissions to ensure strict adherence to safety measures for working at height during high-rise construction projects. A government resolution (GR) issued by the Urban Development Department has warned that violations of these conditions will attract both civil and criminal proceedings.
“Any breach of such measures or requirements set out in the report of the expert committee shall be treated as a violation of building permission and will entail legal consequences, including civil and criminal action,” the GR states. It further directs planning bodies to maintain close surveillance over high-rise projects and to enforce the expert committee’s recommendations rigorously. Stop-work notices will be issued immediately in cases of non-compliance, given that “the safety of human lives is paramount,” the resolution added.
The guidelines cover crane operations, façade installations and other high-risk activities at height. They were framed by an expert committee constituted on the directions of the Bombay High Court in response to a 2023 public interest litigation. The move followed a spate of serious accidents involving tower cranes. On February 14, 2023, two pedestrians were killed when concrete blocks fell from the 42nd floor of a residential construction site.
The committee’s report highlights the scale of the challenge: more than 416 high-rise proposals are currently under consideration, with heights ranging from 150 to 331 metres. A structure rising to 400 metres is also in the pipeline, underscoring the urgency of enforcing stringent safety measures across the region’s rapidly expanding skyline.
Source: Times Of India
