Mumbai civic body website to display all building clearances

Amidst the swirling Adarsh housing scam controversy, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) would soon put information on clearances for all new buildings in the metropolis on its website. The information is to contain details on the area of land, occupation certificate, no-objection certificate granted to the builder and developer.

A BMC official told Business Standard: “Due to the limited scope of development horizontally, emphasis is given on vertical development of buildings and high-rises in Mumbai. Already, a handful of the 160 high-rise projects needing approval have been cleared by the high-rise committee and the balance await approval. Besides, the government has proposed redevelopment of more than 19,000 dilapidated buildings and redevelopment of slums under the slum rehabilitation scheme. To bring in transparency and avoid further controversy like Adarsh, BMC will upload all details relating to all necessary approvals given to development of new building projects in the city.”

The official hoped BMC’s move would also help in prevention of cheating of genuine flat and property buyers. Buyers would, he noted, come to know if the building was legal or not. “This will avoid the trauma they otherwise have to face after demolition of illegal construction.”

A functionary of the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry welcomed BMC’s move. He said it was a revolutionary step to build confidence between the civic body, the developer and the buyer.

The Adarsh housing society was meant for the wives of Kargil war heroes. Of the 103 flats, just two were so allotted; the others went to senior military personnel, politicians, bureaucrats, and their kin. After this was exposed by Right to Information activists, the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority scrapped the occupational certificate granted to the Adarsh society. Further, the BMC disconnected water supply and BrihanMumbai Electric Supply and Transport cut its power supply. Society members have petitioned the high court here against these concellations.