Apart from the increased water tariff, Mumbaikars will now have to shell out more in the form of fire protection fee (FPF). The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has proposed a three-fold hike in FPF, which will be calculated on the basis of the area and the nature of city buildings.
According to civic officials, based on the recommendations of the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, 2006, the BMC has decided to impose FPF for all types of buildings.
“In the backdrop of the increasing population and the number of high-rises in the city, there is a need for more funds for modern equipment, new employees, their training and new fire brigade centres. It will result in more revenues for the BMC. Under the Maharashtra Fire Prevention and Life Safety Measures Act, 2006, the FPF can be charged on all buildings in the municipal limits,” said S.S. Shinde, joint municipal commissioner.
According to the proposed new rates, residential buildings with less than 15 metres height and 15 rooms will be charged Rs 15 per sq feet of the area, than the earlier rate of Rs 5. Those with up to 30 or more rooms will be charged Rs 21 and Rs 30 respectively, as opposed to the earlier fee of Rs 7 and Rs 30 per sq feet.
Three-star, five-star and seven-star deluxe hotels will be charged Rs 45, Rs 60 and Rs 90 per sq feet respectively. Hotels more than 30-metres in height will be charged Rs 150 per sq feet. The hike is also applicable to educational buildings, hospitals and commercial complexes.
The new FPF rates will be charged with retrospective effect from December 6, 2008, while providing no-objection certificate to construction and rebuilding of every building. Apart from this, in order to meet other expenditures to keep the fire system in the buildings in good condition, additional annual fee will also be charged for every building at the rate of minimum three per cent, said civic officials.
The proposal, which was presented before the civic law committee on Saturday, was referred back by the corporators. “The project affected people living in buildings of MMRDA, SRA cannot afford the proposed hike in FPF. Hence, we have asked the civic officials to make a detailed presentation of the proposed fee hike in the next meeting,” said law committee chairman Raju Pednekar.