Now, 27 business units don’t need BMC nod

The BMC simplified rules for small manufacturing units like laundry services, repairs of household equipment, photo processing shops, among others on Friday.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) simplified rules for small manufacturing units like laundry services, repairs of household equipment, photo processing shops, among others on Friday.

Under ease of doing business, BMC reduced the number of activities from 46 to 19 for which businessmen required permission. (HT File Photo)

Under ease of doing business, BMC reduced the number of activities from 46 to 19 for which manufactures/businessmen required permission from Building and Factory department.

A simple NOC from the department takes around a year, which would delay the entire process of setting up the unit. BMC has removed 27 such small activities from the purview of the department.

Many of these 27 activities will, however, still require permissions from license, health department and fire brigade. Some of these activities include repairs and services units like laundry services, repairs of household equipment, photo processing shops, repackaging industries.

Many of the repackaging industries can be found in MIDC area in Andheri east, leather products producing small industries in Dharavi and Sion, which now require permissions from license department.

Building and Factory department issues various permits in consultation with and advice from other technical advisory departments like, Fire Brigade, Engineering, Estate, among others to any individual/ establishments for factory or manufacturing units. Establishments will now have to take permissions from this department for only 19 activities like printing, publishing, manufacture of wooden furniture electronic industry, jewellery making among others.

Since many of these units are found in commercial zones instead of industrial zones, civic body will now charge extra fee from such units in commercial zones to boost its revenue.

For speedy approvals, among other measures, ward offices will also be able to give permission for some smaller activities as opposed to getting clearance from directorate of Industries, which was time consuming.

After the survey it was found that for some of the activities like coffee curing, manufacture of supari, sugarcane and fruit juice crushers among others, BMC has not issued permissions in last five years and thus were discontinued.