Nagpur: Hold your breath! As many as 1328 buildings in city’s outskirts coming under Metro Region have been declared ‘illegal’ by Nagpur Metropolitan Region Development Authority (NMRDA). And many more on the list. These buildings were found constructed without any necessary permission from concerned authorities in the past.
These 1328 unauthorised buildings include 115 industrial units, 75 educational institutes, 65 multi-storied buildings, 52 restaurants and 884 residential as well as other buildings. Subsequently, the Nagpur Metropolitan Region Development Authority (NMRDA) has served notices to all these buildings under Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act (MRTP). This number of unauthorised buildings is likely to mount as the drive to identify such structures is yet to cover many parts of the Metro Region. No permission was procured from NMC’s Fire and Emergency Services Department while constructing these buildings. The notices have asked the owners of the buildings to regularise the structures within a month. But many of the institutes and residential owners have not even replied to the notices. Hence, the Fire Brigade has been sent letters to take action against the unauthorised constructions, NMRDA sources said.
Further, NMRDA has received around 2,000 applications for regularization of buildings and plots following launch of a special scheme by the state government to regularize unauthorized structures and plots. These applications are said to be apart from the 1,328 structures that were declared unauthorized. Majority of the structures are close to the city. All these hint at rampant unauthorized constructions around the city, ignored for years by the district administration, which was the authority before NMRDA was set up.
The NMRDA’s list of 1,328 unauthorized constructions includes 115 industrial structures, 75 educational institutions, 65 multi-storey commercial complexes, 52 restaurants, and 884 residential buildings. All have been issued notice under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act in last five months. These buildings do not have sanctioned building plans or NOC, nor have they complied with norms of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) Fire and Emergency Services Department.
Through the notice, NMRDA has directed owners of the structures to get regularized or demolish the unauthorized constructions within one month. Many of the owners have not even replied to the notices. Taking serious cognisance, NMRDA has sent a letter to the Fire Department asking it to initiate action against 22 educational institutions and 19 godowns under phase-I.
The sources added residential buildings outside gaothan limits of 719 villages will be penalized after action against big structures, especially industrial and commercial. Structures that came up in no development zone and reservation lands will not be regularized. The State Urban Development Department (UDD), headed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, issued these rules to regularise unauthorised construction till December 31, 2015. People will have to pay development charges, infrastructure charges equal to the development charges and compounding charges, which will be double the development charges.
