Ratan Tata hasn't handed over land for road widening outside his new Colaba bungalow.
Ratan Tata’s retirement home ‘Cabine’ in Colaba has been given a partial occupancy certificate (OC), even though he is yet to hand over road setback land to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
BMC norms require property owners/developers to hand over road setback while developing the property, said senior civic officials. “Tata is reluctant to give 3 sq m of land to widen Shahid Bhagat Singh Marg in Colaba. The widening will help ease traffic. But the road will have to be widened in a zigzag manner, causing traffic snarls and noise pollution, if Tata does not give up the land. This will also set a wrong precedent for others, who will develop properties without handing over the road setback,” said an official, requesting anonymity.
Sanjiv Anawkar, deputy chief engineer of the BMC’s building proposal department, said they are pursuing the matter seriously. “We have written a couple of letters to Tata, asking him to hand over the road setback soon. The partial OC, too, says that the full OC will be issued only after the road setback is handed over,” he said.
However, sources said that inhabitants can occupy a property with just a partial OC. “They do not need to seek the full OC, and Tata may be contemplating this option. Otherwise, he would have handed over the road setback earlier,” a source said.
Interestingly, municipal commissioner Subodh Kumar recently issued a circular to its building proposal and developmental planning department, saying it is mandatory for property owners/developers to hand over the road setback to the BMC.
“If the developer and the plot owner do not hand over the road setback even after development of the plot, the BMC is authorised to revoke the approval given to any project. BMC staffers will face stern action if they fail to do so,” Kumar said, adding that partial OCs will not be given from now on, as they lead to illegal occupancy across the city.
DNA could not contact Kumar despite repeated attempts, as he was said to be busy preparing a disaster management plan that will be presented before chief minister Prithviraj Chavan on Saturday. The spokesperson for Tata Sons did not respond to emails for over a fortnight.
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