Mira-Bhayandar: In a significant move which is expected to bring smiles on the faces of local developers and citizens, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday assured of taking firm steps to put a permanent end to the colonial regime still prevailing in the twin-city of Mira-Bhayandar.
The chief minister was responding to the issue raised by local legislator and transport minister Pratap Sarnaik in the ongoing session of the state assembly about vast stretches of land in the twin-city which still remain the property of a British-era private entity even after decades of achieving Independence.
Notably, it is a mandatory procedure of obtaining a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the private firm whose name appears in the land revenue record (7/12 extract) on huge tracts of land measuring over 9,000 acres in revenue villages including -Bhayandar, Mire and Ghodbunder, for securing permissions for construction projects and get deemed conveyance for hundreds of housing societies-especially those who keen to redevelop old and rickety structures.
It has also been alleged that the company demanded exorbitant amounts for issuing its NOC which is a mandated component for getting construction approvals from the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) and to secure deemed conveyance from the local sub--registrar office.
Sensing the seriousness of the situation which is causing injustice to citizens, Sarnaik has been continuously raising the issue seeking an end to the fleecing tactics which defeats the objective of the deemed conveyance.
In response the chief minister said that the government had formed a committee in 2024 which had submitted its report, following which all other permissions are being granted subject to the NOC, however in order to put a permanent end for such a submission, the chief secretary has been instructed to follow up on the case and resolve the legal hurdles to vacate the stay as early as possible. “I am thankful to the chief minister for taking cognisance of my plea and issuing instructions to resolve the issue.” said Sarnaik.
Mira-Bhayandar | File Photo
The Background
As per records Ramchandra Laxmanji had been appointed as caretaker in 1871- (British Era) to build protection walls so as to ensure blockage of water in the city. In lieu of this service, farmers had to hand over 1/3 of their agri-produce. In 1945 the responsibility of protection was handed over to the Estate Investment Company, which went on to become a superior holder in respect of lands in the records of the three revenue villages.
After a dispute that cropped-up out of mutation entries the name of the company was removed from the occupant column of record of rights and was entered in the other rights column. But this was only for a brief period. The then District Collector, Thane passed an order on 5, September, 2008 in favour of the company directing its name to be entered in the column of occupant in the 7/12 land extract record.
Boon for Housing Societies
There are hundreds of housing societies in the twin-city which lack deemed conveyance and are still registered under the names of the developers or landlords, the additional burden of procuring NOC’s from the private firm deprives the actual flat owners from benefits of future development.
