The urban development department has asked municipal bodies in and around the city not to permit construction of over nine-storeyed buildings or those taller than 25.5m, said minister Firhad Hakim on Friday.
The department is awaiting clarity over some rules being framed by the ministry of civil aviation, he said.
Hakim said he found out that the civil aviation ministry is tweaking some rules that may affect the height of buildings in and around the city.
“I have asked the building department (of Kolkata Municipal Corporation) not to give any permission to any high-rise,” Hakim said.
When asked about other municipal bodies in Bidhannagar, Dum Dum and New Town, he said they were also asked not to permit new high-rises.
“We will not issue permission to any building that is taller than 25.5m,” he said.
It was not clear what would happen to those under-construction buildings that breach the height limit.
Sushil Mohta, president of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India, Bengal chapter, said the structures that were built illegally posed the real problem.
“The Airports Authority of India has a very scientific online system for giving the height clearance. The problem lies with illegal structures near the airport, constructed without the required height clearance. We are committed to compliance with all building rules, including taking approval from the Airports Authority of India,” said Mohta, also the chairman of Merlin Group.
The ministry of civil aviation on Wednesday published the draft Aircraft (Demolition of Obstructions caused by Buildings and Trees etc) Rules, 2025. The draft mentions that the rules will be notified after 21 days. Suggestions and objections can be raised in the intervening period.
The draft rules come around a week after the Air India Ahmedabad-London flight crashed near Ahmedabad airport on June 12.
A senior KMC official said Calcutta is divided into various zones depending on their distance from the airport and the Behala flying club.
“There is more restriction on the height of a building closer to the airport or the flying club,” the official said.
At times, the permission from the AAI needs to be taken even for a three-storey building near the flying club, said the official.