The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority’s (MMRDA) urban design division has issued a revised notification about standard operating procedure (SOP) to regularise unauthorised construction. The revised SOP will be applicable where the MMRDA is the special planning authority, especially in Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Ambernath and Badlapur in Thane district.
Interestingly, the notification will benefit property owners in Thane, which is also the constituency of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
As per revised guidelines, the applicants won’t have to submit documents like letters of appointment, acceptance, and remarks of consultants from the departments of road construction, fire safety, traffic parking and horticulture.
The applicants need to only submit electricity/ water bill. Instead of no-objection certificates (NOC) issued by the director of industries (for storage of hazardous materials), a valid license can be submitted. The submission of NOC from the chief dire officer has also been relaxed. Instead, a provisional NOC can be submitted before processing the proposal. However, the applicant will be responsible for the final NOC at a later stage.
MMRDA officials said the SOP has been revised after a meeting with architects and licensed engineers who had submitted a proposal that these unauthorised structures are in use and the guidelines will ease the process of regularisation.
