Shillong, Nov 5: The state Cabinet on Tuesday approved the amendment of the Meghalaya Building Bye-laws to regulate the building construction in industrial zones, which include Mawhanu and Mawkasiang under the New Shillong Township (NST).
Addressing media persons after the meeting, cabinet minister and MDA spokesperson Paul Lyngdoh said, “This (amendment) is broadly to facilitate the need to categorize the industrial zone to categories earlier not done and also it involves the amendment of the building bye-laws for these industrial zones.”
“As you are aware the expansion that is happening currently specially in the new Shillong city has to be planned in a very scientific manner, which is why we need this new sets of bye-laws for the industrial zones to be in place and these were considered and approved by the cabinet,” he added.
Asked, the minister said the new regulation would applicable in designated industrial estates across Meghalaya because the urbanization is an ever-ongoing process and it is expanding.
“But as of date, certain categories of buildings have not been duly notified and therefore, there is a need to regulate such buildings, there is need to categorize them to define the FAR of each of the categories, setbacks, all of those issues. Hence, there is need to regulate such buildings and therefore, the cabinet decided in view of the growing urbanization and the emergence of new urban centres so within these industrial zones and estates, the categorization of these buildings and their applicability of the bye-laws will be extended to those industrial zones. These are all for the industrial estates/zones and wherever such activities are taking place so right now new Shillong is the immediate point of attention but it will be across the state wherever such industrial estates are being created,” he stated.
If government has notified industrial zones in the new Shillong city, Lyngdoh said, “No, in areas like Mawkhanu and areas like Mawkasiang, we will have these industrial zones and within areas already acquired by government of Meghalaya.”
