No OC? Bldgs prior to 2001 will get amnesty

Ref:TOI Dt: 23/07/10

Mumbai: In a major relief for residents of thousands of buildings that have no occupation certificates (OC), the BMC is set to extend its amnesty scheme to these ‘illegal’ structures that were constructed prior to 2001. Last year, the BMC had announced relaxation of municipal taxes—primarily water and sewerage—to about 2,384 buildings (constructed prior to 1991) across the city. But not many benefited as the number of buildings has been increasing steadily. 
    Not having an OC means the builder has not fulfilled the necessary requirements for the project and the residents are living there illegally. 
    The latest steps are being taken in the wake of a study by the BMC’s development plan (DP) department. The study has noted that the number of buildings without an OC is growing, though buyers of residential properties have become much more aware about the problem. Therefore, officials said, it is vital to extend the scheme to buildings constructed before 2001. 
    Some other new steps that will be taken include insistence on an indemnity bond from occupants and societies stating that in case of any litigation from the developer or the architect of the project, it would be directly dealt with between the parties, keeping the BMC out of legal hassles. 
    These steps have been taken because, according to a recent study by the development plan (DP) department, “the response to the earlier scheme is very poor and there is an urgent need to extend the scheme’’, said an official. In a meeting last week, five wards between Goregaon and Dahisar said that despite the amnesty scheme, the number of buildings with pending OCs has only grown and the current figure stands at a staggering 282. “For no fault of theirs, these occupants are suffering and are having to pay exorbitant water and sewerage charges. Why should they continue to suffer?’’ asked a senior DP official. 
    The study has listed reasons as to why these buildings have no OC. In most cases, developers and architects have abandoned the project and when that happened, there’s no way occupants could obtain a mandatory NoC. The process of calculating charges for approval takes into account the present rates which is much higher than the rates prevailing at the time buildings were occupied. This makes it difficult for the occupants to pay up. To speed up the process of granting pending OCs, the study has suggested formulating a panel of 10 private architects who will scrutinise the proposals. 
Why certifiate is vital 
    Not obtaining an OC after completion of work makes a project illegal and the residents then have to run from pillar to post for these certificates once the builder gives them possession.