The Times of India          18.11.2013 

'Civic bodies must keep watch on illegal buildings'

PUNE: Even as the debate on civic bodies shirking their responsibilities to stem illegal constructions rages, town planners insist that the state government must get municipal corporations to set up a system for quick approval of building proposals and upload the information about the permissions granted on their websites so that property buyers can access the details about the legality of the building before they invest.

In the absence of any checks, and when proposals are deliberately delayed, developers launch illegal constructions and later use their influence to regularize them, they added. Others felt buyers must exercise adequate caution before investing.

Illegal constructions that bypass the development plan and development control rules can bode disaster for growing cities like Pune, they said.

"Illegal constructions in urban areas have posed a challenge to the state government and civic bodies. Rampant illegal constructions and their regularizations to satisfy popular sentiments will invalidate planned growth based on development plans and development control rules. A municipal corporation and its administration are responsible for illegal constructions. But political interference and influence have a major role in the proliferation of illegal constructions in Mumbai, Thane and Pune," said former state town planning deputy director Yashwant Kanade.

"It is mandatory for the municipal corporations to have a mechanism to keep a check on illegal constructions. However, civic officials ignore them. Building permission proposals are deliberately kept pending. The builder then goes ahead with illegal construction and later seeks help from politicians to regularize the construction which set a bad precedent. Civic bodies have to check constructions and ensure that developers build according to an approved plan," said senior town planner Ramchandra Gohad.

He recalled the Supreme Court's observations in the Pratibha housing society case in Mumbai when he was at Mantralaya. Prominent citizens and top businessmen had formed a society and bought a plot at Warden Road at a court auction 1981. Construction started in 1983 when then collector of Mumbai, Arun Bhatia, discovered that a number of builders had altered records to consume extra FSI. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation realised that Pratibha was one of the main FSI violators and ordered demolition of the top eight floors. In this case, the SC upheld the high court's order to demolish the top eight floors. Demolition, which began in 1988 was completed at a cost of Rs 60 lakh in 2007.

"The tendency to raise unlawful constructions and unauthorized encroachments is increasing in the country and must be dealt with firmly," said the apex court in this case judgment.

"The tendency of raising unlawful constructions and unauthorized encroachment is increasing in the entire country and such activities are required to be dealt with by firm hands," said the apex court judgment in this case.

"Along with the municipal administration, buyers are also responsible for illegal constructions. Developers continue to build properties without paying heed to rules because they know there are buyers. They should show due diligence. Considering the soaring rates of properties, they condone legal matters if they are get flats at cheaper rates compared to the market price," said urban planner Anita Gokhale Benninger.

She pointed to the rampant illegal constructions in Pune. Politicians and the civic administration must take steps to curb tragedies like the Taljai building collapse in September 2012, she added.

Ten people, including a two year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl, were killed and 11 others were injured when a three-storey illegal under construction building came crashing down at Saiduttanagar Colony in Taljai Pathar, Dhankawdi. The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) suspended two officials for failing to keep a check on illegal constructions.

The PMC does not have any mechanism to watch for illegal constructions. "We are facing severe manpower shortage. We have sent a proposal to the state government to raise the number of engineers, but have not received any response. The proposal to set up exclusive police stations to handle civic crimes, including encroachments and violation of the Bombay Provincial Municipal Act, 1949 and Maharashtra Regional & Town Planning Act, 1966 remains on paper," a senior official said.

Town planners said the PMC must strictly implement the development control rules in a 10-km radius of the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad municipal corporations to stem the chaos.

The scramble for affordable homes has led to rampant illegal constructions in the fringe areas bordering the city where building plans were sanctioned by the gram panchayats. There is blatant violation of the 0.4 Floor Space Index (FSI) in the fringe and merged villages. In many cases, the panchayats have sanctioned an FSI of 8. Such violations were found in a 20 to 25-km radius from the PMC limits. A comprehensive blue print for development is necessary to stop such misadventures, they added.

Civic activist Vijay Kumbhar said the Supreme Court has laid down clear guidelines on illegal constructions in the Sun Dew apartment case (see box 1). "However, municipal corporations continue to permit and regularize illegal constructions by misinterpreting court judgments. The SC has laid down strict norms in the Sun Dew apartment case when it comes to illegal constructions and encroachments on public spaces," he said.

"The greed for making more money is leading to all sorts of construction for housing in prime city areas usurping the lands meant for public amenities wherever possible and in utter disregard for the quality of life. Large numbers of areas in big cities have already become concrete jungles bereft of adequate public amenities.... We are also clear that any unauthorised construction particularly on the lands meant for public amenities must be removed forthwith. We expect the guidelines laid down in this behalf to be followed scrupulously," stated the SC bench comprising justices R V Raveendran and H L Gokhale in the Sun Dew apartment judgment.

Civic chief's role

"It is his responsibility to act in accordance with these laws and to protect the interest of the corporation. The commissioner is expected to place the complete and correct facts before the government when any such occasion arises, and stand by the correct legal position. That is what is expected of the senior administrative officers like him. That is why they are given appropriate protection under the law. Now, unfortunately, we have a situation where the senior officers are changing their position looking to the way the wind is blowing."

Political Executive

"They must follow the law and not in furtherance of the interest of a relative. However, as the time has passed, these expectations are belied. The ministers, corporators and the administrators must zealously guard the spaces reserved for public amenities from the preying hands of the builders. What will happen, if the protectors themselves become poachers? Their decisions and conduct must be above board. Institutional trust is of utmost importance."

Civic bodies' power

"The primary powers of the Municipal Corporations in Maharashtra such as PMC (excluding some Municipal Corporations which have their separate enactments) and of the Standing Committees of the Corporations are enumerated in the BPMC Act. Coupled with those powers, the Municipal Corporations have their powers under MRTP Act. These are the statutory powers, and they cannot be bypassed."

(Judgment in the Sun Dew apartment case by Supreme Court bench comprising justices H L Gokhale and R V Raveendran in 2011)

Proposal to take action on paper

When former municipal commissioner Mahesh Zagade questioned illegal constructions, he was shunted out of Pune in 2010. Zagade had said that Pune's development was not been moving in the right direction and wanted a panel to conduct a probe and recommend ways to tackle the situation.

Zagade had proposed a committee comprising a retired high court judge and an IAS officer to probe the failure of the administration in executing the 1987 Development Plan (DP). The committee was to look into illegal constructions, encroachments, blocking of streams, issues pertaining to building permission and administrative failure.

Following the crackdown on illegal constructions and action against influential developers, architects and civic officials, Zagade was posted elsewhere, the committee he proposed remained on paper and so did the action against illegal constructions.