Mumbai real estate developers will have to pay a fire protection fee along with scrutiny fees to get their building plans approved by the fire department, according to a proposal awaiting the nod of the municipal commissioner. The fire protection fee will be charged for residential buildings, commercial buildings, including malls, commercial centres, luxury hotels and multiplexes.
This is the first time that the civic body will be charging a fire protection fee for new buildings.
For commercial structures, the fee will be in the range of Rs 50-60 per sq m and Rs 25-30 per sq m for residential structures. Currently, the fire department generates revenue to the tune of Rs 40-50 crore through various fees for new building structures. The fire department currently charges a scrutiny fees to grant no-objection certificates (NOCs) to new buildings. Fire officials have also proposed an increase in the scrutiny fees for highrises and other structures.
The proposal to charge a fire protection fee for new buildings has been sent to the municipal commissioner (of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation). It has also been proposed a hike in the scrutiny fees that is charged to grant NOCs to new buildings. Once the proposal is approved, it will be included in the upcoming budget, Deputy Fire Officer AR Patil said.
Currently, the civic body charges a fire protection fee from existing buildings. This tax is collected as part of the property tax. Fire officials said the new fire protection fee will be used for buying fire-fighting equipment and upgrade the existing ones. It will also be used to secure families of firemen who get injured or killed during fire-fighting operations.