Civic chief’s decision disappoints activists

Municipal commissioner Subodh Kumar’s decision to revise his circular ordering illegal buildings to be demolished and ordering that they be regularised instead has left activists disappointed.

Municipal commissioner Subodh Kumar’s decision to revise his circular ordering illegal buildings to be demolished and ordering that they be regularised instead has left activists disappointed.

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Santosh Daundkar, who works with the non-governmental organisation, Ghar Bachao Andolan, said: “The new circular will encourage illegal construction. If you want to regularise illegal construction like this then scrap the law of building proposals.”

Activist Simpreet Singh called the decision unfortunate. “It means if you have money you can construct illegally and then regularise it,” he said. Kumar’s revised circular came the day builders met chief minister Prithviraj Chavan to air their grievances. “It seems like the circular was revised under pressure from the builders’ lobby,” said a senior BMC official, requesting anonymity.