Dear Friends,
I have been following up on the subject of granting Occupation Certificates to all buildings who are over 10 years of age and not yet received OC, since 2015.
I have written to various authorities- from CM to Municipal Commissioner, to smoothen the process, not charge penalty etc.
Today, on PM Narendra Modi's birthday, Facebook gave me a great gift by sending me my letter sent to CM Devendra Fadnavis in September 2015 - in the memories section.
I am happy that my struggle is finally bearing fruit with CM Devendra Fadnavis has now constituted a sub committee under Ex MP Gopal Shetty to look into the OC matter in Mumbai and suggest measures.
I am reproducing below my 10 year old letter alongwith the current post of Adv Vivekanand Gupta on the first meeting of the OC Committee.
September 10, 2015.
The Hon. Chief Minister,
Govt. Of Maharashtra,
Mantralaya,
Mumbai 400 021
Respected Devendra Fadnavisji,
Sub: Request to amend the DCR to facilitate granting of Occupation Certificates to buildings more than 10 years old in the state of Maharashtra.
Residents of Worli's Campa Cola Compound may have got a relief from the Supreme Court but if buyers of real estate are not careful about legal procedures and approvals, they may suffer the same fate as these residents.
In the case of Campa Cola, the municipal corporation had not granted an occupation certificate (OC). This means residents did not have a valid certificate from the municipal body.
Sir, the harsh reality is that one out of every two buildings in Mumbai, Thane and surroundings – MMR don’t have Occupation Certificate.
Scarier still is that the local Corporations in MMR itself do not know how many buildings have OC. These Corporations do not have any up-to-date data or a system in place to track the developers who violate rules and hand over possession to buyers without first procuring the mandatory Objection Certificate.
An OC is accorded to the builder by the local civic body once construction of a building is completed and the compound is ready for inhabitation. It states that the building is a legal construction and has all the approvals from the various government authorities. It is illegal to occupy a building without this document.
Without an OC, civic amenity will be provided to the building only on humanitarian grounds, which means you will have to double the amount for water.
Without the occupancy certificate, it is difficult to get the water and sanitary connection. Banks and financial institutions do not sanction loans against the flat unless this is not issued by the concerned authorities. If the flats are occupied by the buyers without it, the local Corporations can evict them or have heavy penalties levied on them.
The OC also specifies the type of building - free-standing, terraced, cluster complex, town house complex, apartment or commercial building.
All those responsible for constructing illegal buildings often get away scot-free and the end user has to pay the price.
What shall be the fate of over 20,000 buildings without an OC in the MMR region?
Recently, some local Corporations like the Thane Municipal Corporation have come out with Amnesty schemes for buildings not having an OC.
The scheme is for residents who have been left in the lurch by builders.
The scheme provides that individuals or societies can apply for OC, along with the latest Structural Audit Report and approved plans of the buildings.
Hitch.
However, there is a hitch here.
The Municipal Corporations have made the Structural Audit compulsory. That is perfect.
But they are rejecting applications if they find that the flat owner has made certain modifications in his flat which differ from the original plans submitted by the builder.
Sir, as mentioned earlier, majority of buildings now applying for OC and wanting to take advantage of the Amnesty schemes are more than 10 years old. Many are even 20 years old.
It is very natural that the resident of the building would make some alterations in his flat over the years to suit his changing lifestyle, addition to his family etc.
We request you to amend the DCRs in such a way that for one time – application of OC - and unless the residents have not made any structural changes to the buildings, minor alterations should be condoned.
In most cases, the builder has left the flat owners in a lurch.
Agreeing that they should have been more vigilant while purchasing the flats, we would like to point out that most of these cases are of the 1990’s – when there was a boom in construction of complexes and awareness as regards such provisions was low.
Buyers were often swayed by the reputation of the builder and put their trust in him that he would comply with all rules and regulations.
Hence, a holistic view of the entire situation needs to be taken by the govt. to help the residents and also solve the vexed problem once and for all.
Hence, we request you to suitably amend the Development Control Rules (DCR) in the state and provide:
1) Provided that the Structural Report of the applicant building is good and vouches for the safe and sound condition of the building, the local Municipal Authority shall grant Occupation Certificate (OC) to that building, unless if the residents have made any structural changes to the buildings, minor alterations shall be condoned on payment of the prescribed penalty, if the building is of over 10 years of age.
2) This scheme may be kept time bound so that residents take advantage of it, get their buildings regularized and the Corporations also get handsome revenue.
We look upon for a positive outlook from you to our suggestions and hope that you will help the residents in the state.
Regards,
Dayanand Nene
National Secretary: Consumer Protection Service Council
President, Alert Citizens Forum of India / SAHAKARSUTRA
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