'Maha to bring online system to allow minor changes in

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today told the Legislative Assembly that a new system is being developed to grant online permission to applicants seeking to make certain changes, not structural, in their properties in the city.
"People sometimes need to make changes to their houses, but the procedure is very complicated and time-consuming. As a result of which people tend to make the changes without taking any prior permission from concerned authorities, and sometimes such decisions turn into a disaster," the chief minister said.
His statement came a day after a residential building collapsed in suburban Ghatkopar, allegedly due to alterations made in a facility located on its ground floor, killing 17 persons.

Such mechanism will not only increase the speed of clearing demands, but also reduce the waiting period for people, he said.
"The BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) has converted its huge data of properties into digital database. The same data will be linked with the online permission procedure, wherein a flat owner can file the application from home to make some changes in his house," he told the House.
Explaining the intended procedure, the CM said a BMC-recognised architect will visit the house of the applicant to ascertain that the proposed changes are not very significant or are structural changes.

"For such minor works, it will be mandatory for the architect and the BMC to issue permissions to the applicant. Such system will be tight and have minimum human intervention," Fadnavis said.

The state government will soon issue a notification for building redevelopment, which will permit flat owners to approach a new builder if the existing developer fails to deliver as per the requirement or agreement, he said.
The CM said the Mumbai civic body is also coming up with a procedure under which building permissions will be issued without delay.
"A world bank committee has already seen BMC's work. It (the procedure) will further reduce the time for (granting) such permissions," he added.