Govt drafting policy on construction of additional floors

The Delhi Government will soon unveil a policy to provide relief to lakhs of Delhiites waiting endlessly to carry out construction of additional floors in residential flats having multiple ownership.
Urban Development Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely said government was planning to do away with production of no-objection certificate (NOC) by people having right over third floor from the other floor owners for expansion of building.
Lt Governor Tejendra Khanna in December last year had directed the municipal corporations not to insist on production of NOC for giving approval for construction of third floor if they are satisfied with structural safety of a building and compliance of building bye-laws.

The municipal corporations, however, refused to comply with the directive of the Lt Governor, arguing that it was "very ambiguous" and "vague".
The Delhi Government is now working on a policy to allow construction of third floor in flats having multiple ownership and ensure transparency in approval of building plans.
"The problem with the MCDs is that whenever they do not want to follow any Delhi Government directive, they will say LG has to issue the order as he is the administrator and when they do not want to follow a directive issued by the LG they will say Delhi Government has to frame a policy," Lovely said.

He said government will "soon" come out with a policy to address the issue and provide relief to lakhs of residents.

"We are formulating a policy. We feel if the building is structurally safe and title of ownership is clear then there should be no issues with sanctioning the building plan. We will come out with the policy very soon," he told PTI.
MCD officials said though the Lt Governor had asked them to do away with the NoC but he mentioned that the occupants of the existing floors will have the option of expressing their views to the municipal bodies about expansion of the building. "The directive of the LG was very ambiguous and it was open for various interpretation," they said.

Chief Secretary D M Spolia said the Government was examining the "complicated issue" seriously and working on a policy to make the process simple and hassle-free.
Though separate amendment in Master Plan of Delhi 2021 and building bylaws may be required to make the changes in the existing norms, the government was exploring whether it can go for an "executive decision", he said.
"The municipal corporations said they have reservations in doing away with NoC due to variety of reasons like ensuring car space, distribution of plot, provisions of various services and ensuring structural safety. We will take a view shortly," the Chief Secretary added.