High rise buildings and the overall negative impact

Tuesday, 8 May 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

There is a boom in the construction industry in our country and quite a large number of multi-storied buildings are coming up overnight all over the place within the city as well as outside.

Even in small ‘wattes’ (gardens) one can see single houses with floor space of less than one perch being converted to houses with upstairs violating legal requirements of minimum floor area of five perches (or is it six?) to put up additional floors. Sometimes in some narrow lanes the balconies of some houses have been put up so close that one can just leap from one house to the opposite.

Has the Government, when granting approval to carry out extensions to houses both horizontally and vertically, taken into consideration the impact it will have when it comes to:

1.Supply of electricity

2.Water supply

3.Sewerage disposal

4.Garbage disposal

5.Transport and traffic jam

6.Privacy

And other implications such as environment pollution due to overcrowding and lack of ventilation?

Can the state institutions such as the CMC, the CEB, NWSDB, etc., provide the services expected from them with the exponential growth in the construction of housing and other buildings?

Mohamed Zahran

Colombo 14