Mumbai, Jan. 24 -- The Maharashtra government has decided to reduce the height of a new building being constructed in the Mantralaya garden for ministers following objections raised by the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC), according to officials aware of the developments. The public works department (PWD) had originally planned a ground-plus-seven-storey structure, but the MHCC objected to the height, citing the site's location within south Mumbai's Art Deco precinct. So far, four slabs of the prefabricated structure have already been cast, officials said. "We had planned a ground-plus-seven-storey building in the garden, but the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee has told us to construct a ground-plus-five-storey building," said a senior PWD official. The decision to construct an additional building was taken due to a space crunch at Mantralaya, where accommodating the full council of 42 ministers and their staff has become increasingly difficult. The PWD had floated a tender last year to construct the building at an estimated cost of Rs.99 crore. "Maharashtra has got a full cabinet after a long time," the senior PWD official said, explaining why the state commissioned a new building despite the space shortage being a long-standing issue. Under the original plan, the building was to have a total built-up area of 7,770 sqm and occupy 2,562 sqm of the 27,324-sqm Mantralaya plot. It was intended to house around 10 ministers, with three offices per floor. The PWD will now construct a five-storey building instead. Mumbai's Art Deco precinct has strict regulations for building height and design. As a result, several buildings along Marine Drive are barred from redevelopment, and violations in the past have attracted regulatory action....