Buildings and towers situated on the premises of central jails will have to block their views of the prison for security reasons. The buildings will have to construct British-style slanted roofs and walls to block windows and any space left for ventilation. The Urban Development Department (UDD) took the decision and issued guidelines last week after a high court directive.
The decision will be applicable to eight central jails in the state at Yerawada, Kolhapur, Mumbai, Thane, Aurangabad, Nashik Road, Nagpur and Amravati. The issue was taken to the court as an ongoing project on one of the jail premises had been halted.
“High-rise buildings could pose a threat to the security of the jail, as its premises can be easily viewed from a height. Such buildings will have to construct slanted British-style roof so that no one can stand on it. The buildings will also have to block windows facing the jails,” an official from the UDD said.
New constructions coming up near the buffer zone area of the jail that is between 150 and 500 metres from the premises needs approval from an expert committee of the government. The committee comprises the municipal commissioner, police commissioner, and jail authorities, among others. The government had set up a similar committee in 2013. But none of the proposal was approved or disapproved by the then committee in the absence of proper guidelines by the government.
The government has also restricted Mhada from selling residential buildings on the premises. The Mhadacan construct the building near buffer zone but will have to hand it over to the government for sale.
