Mumbai, Sept. 22 -- The state government has made it mandatory for all new buildings in the state to have a common telecommunication infrastructure including a telecom room and an established wiring system that tenants and owners can use for their digital needs. Municipal corporations and town planners must now incorporate a provision for the telecom infrastructure in building plans. Among other provisions, all new buildings must have a common duct which will access the building's telecom room. The state government has also made it mandatory that the occupancy certificate or building completion certificate will not be issued by the local bodies if the telecom infrastructure was not in place. An urban development department official said that the aim of such infrastructure is to create an ecosystem for digital connectivity making it an essential part of building development. Through this, internet services will become as accessible as water, electricity or fire safety systems in buildings. In 2022, the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) had requested the state government to include an addendum into the Model Building Bye-Laws 2016 issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) into the State Building By-Law. The state government accepted the request and the state urban development department amended the United Development Control and Promotion Regulations (UDCPR), issuing a notification on September 4 that brought the new provision into effect. As per the notification, architects, developers, and planning authority officers must ensure the new provisions are included in the building plans before approving them. The notification adds, "The system should not be susceptible to flooding; should not be exposed to water, moisture, fumes, gases or dust; should be able to withstand designed equipment load (to be specified in design) and should be located away from any vibrations to avoid dislocation/dislodgement." The notification adds that telecom cables should ideally be placed below the parking area or service lane, which may be dug up easily without causing major inconvenience. "Where this is not possible, the cables may be placed at the outer edge of the right side of the way," it elaborated. Urban planner and principal director of Urban Centre Mumbai, Pankaj Joshi praised the decision saying, "It is really a good decision and needs to be replicated in the Development Control and Promotion Regulations (DCPR) for Mumbai."...