CM promises new law to ensure harsh penalty for erring builders

The lax provisions in the law that allow developers flouting construction norms to get away with not more than a rap on the wrist are all set to change.

The lax provisions in the law that allow developers flouting construction norms to get away with not more than a rap on the wrist are all set to change.

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Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan told the legislative Assembly on Friday that the government was mulling a new, more stringent law to bring erring developers to book as the existing laws did not have provisions for harsh punishment like prolonged jail terms.

Currently, all illegal construction cases are tried under the Mumbai Region Town Planning Act (MRTP Act).

Chavan said, “We have some laws but we need to amend them to make them more effective. The government is also in the process of formulating a new, stringent act. I, too, am concerned about the illegal constructions coming up across the state.”

Chavan said this in reply to a calling attention motion moved by Shiv Sena legislator Pratap Sarnaik on the spate of illegal constructions in Mira-Bhayander. Sarnaik said 135 cases of illegal constructions – perhaps the highest in the country – were being probed in the area. The developers extended buildings or constructed new ones without seeking the local civic body’s approval.