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Mumbai: Young developers changing the game though not for better

Instead of adding illegal floors to old, dilapidated structures, builders are pulling them down entirely to rebuild new, illegal ones

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The latest trend in city, especially in South Mumbai, shows how the entire procedure of constructing illegal buildings has changed.

While so far we have seen developers adding floors to existing buildings under the pretext of carrying out repairs, now, more and more instances of small-time developers tearing down entire buildings and then constructing completely new structures on the plot are coming to light.

Such developers allegedly identify financers who not only have money but underworld connections to put pressure on residents and complainants. They then purchase old dilapidated buildings with two, or at the most, three floors, raze it to the ground and build a new one, with the whole thing still being done illegally.

The developers usually select buildings labelled as dilapidated or dangerous. They then wait for the civic body to issue notice to the tenants, asking them to vacate. With no choice left and on the assurance of the landlord, financers and developers, permission to carry out repairs is sought. Once that is granted, the building is pulled down.

Cessed buildings — most built prior to 1940 — are privately-owned and old whose repair and maintenance is the responsibility of the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada). The tenants in these buildings pay cess to the Mhada as owners have found it impossible to maintain the structures because of meagre rents charged to residents.

Section 33(7) of the Development Control Rules for Mumbai says if a cessed building is redeveloped, the developer can get an FSI of 2.5, or the FSI required to provide tenements to all the tenants in the building, whichever is more, plus some incentive FSI. The developer, however, in this case is not bothered about the FSI and decides his own share of benefit. He rehabilitates the tenants in the new building and sells the extra FSI as his profit.

About MRTP Act
The civic body has decided to deal with complaints pertaining to unauthorised alterations to buildings, especially those below 30 years in age, strictly.

According to an amendment to the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act, 1888, a building must be structurally audited if it is more than 30 years old, which is considered as an average age, beyond which buildings start weakening. BMC is also planning to declare a building "dilapidated", if major changes are found in a structure, based on complaints.

The civic body, as per relevant provisions of the MMC Act and the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act, 1966, serves notices to owners/occupants of buildings where modifications are found. The structure is then required to be restored to the original plan within 30 days. If that doesn't happen, the civic body can initiate proceedings to prosecute the people concerned.

"The MRTP Act recommends imprisonment in such cases. The period of imprisonment depends on the extent of alterations made," a civic official said.

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