The Maharashtra government has reportedly mandated that all new buildings in the state must include common telecommunication infrastructure, such as a telecom room and an established wiring system, to meet tenants’ and owners’ digital needs. Municipal corporations and town planners are now required to integrate these provisions into building plans.
As part of the new rules, every new building must have a common duct connected to the telecom room. Occupancy certificates or building completion certificates will not be issued by local bodies unless this telecom infrastructure is in place. An official from the urban development department said that the goal is to make digital connectivity a core element of building development, placing it on par with essential utilities like water, electricity, and fire safety systems.
The decision follows a request made in August 2022 by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for states to incorporate provisions from the Model Building Bye-Laws 2016, issued by the ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). Maharashtra’s urban development department amended the Unified Development Control and Promotion Regulations (UDCPR), and issued a notification on September 4, 2025, to enforce the changes.
According to the notification, architects, developers, and planning authorities must ensure that building plans include the telecom infrastructure, ducts, and separate drawings showing connectivity with distribution networks. Developers and planners must also submit a detailed service plan for the telecom infrastructure, prepared with a telecom hardware consultant and certified by a credible expert.
The guidelines suggest that telecom cables should preferably be laid beneath parking areas or service lanes, allowing for easier maintenance without disruption. The DoT, TRAI, and telecom operators have also been empowered to inspect plans and recommend modifications if necessary.
Urban planners have further suggested that the government direct local bodies to lay high-speed fibre-optic networks to complement this move, enabling ‘fibre-to-the-curb’ (FTTC) and ‘fibre-to-the-home’ (FTTH) technologies for improved digital access.
