Maharashtra government formulates rules to regularize unauthorized buildings

These rules are set to benefit lakhs of people in Mumbai and other regions of Maharashtra. The notification states that these rules will apply to most structures except for those in the eco-sensitive areas, buffer zones, structurally unsafe buildings, unauthorized structures carried by violating development plan except in residential zones, among others.

The rules state that permissible structures that have come up in residential, commercial, public, semi-public or industrial zones without obtaining prior permissions of the authority shall be considered for regularization by levying compounding charges.

For other violations related to Floor Space Index (FSI), height of the building, marginal open space, road width among others, the government has specified various parameters that the planning authority will take into consideration before regularizing the structures.

The planning authority has been instructed to publish a notice immediately in local newspapers to invite applications for regularization. This has to be done within next 6 months.

The notification also states that after the regularization of an illegal structure no further development shall be permissible other than repairs and redevelopment.

The money received by planning authority in form of premium and compounding charges will be credited in a separate account and will be utilized for providing public amenities, utilities, and services in the respective areas.

“This move might just help densely populated urban areas where there are unregulated and unaccounted constructions,” said Arvind Nandan, a real estate expert.