State to put forth policy to regularise illegal structures

Certain illegal constructions in the state may soon be regularised. Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, on Thursday, said the state would bring in a comprehensive policy to this effect by next month.

Certain illegal constructions in the state may soon be regularised. Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, on Thursday, said the state would bring in a comprehensive policy to this effect by next month.

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Chavan made the announcement in the state assembly while addressing concerns over redevelopment of dilapidated buildings in Thane. As per figures put out by the government, Thane has 1,106 buildings that are in bad condition, with 57 of these on the verge of collapse. Chavan said regularising unauthorised buildings was not possible under the existing legal framework. "But we will have to think on humanitarian grounds so that innocent residents do not get affected. The state will prepare a plan to help these people get new homes," Chavan said.

Chavan informed the house that the state thought of redeveloping such buildings through several ways. "One is to get government authorities like the Mhada to build new houses, or the residents can do it on their own. The other option will be through a cluster development by private builders," Chavan said. He clarified that the new homes would not come for free.

The CM rejected demands that the projects be given a global floor space index (FSI) of four. He said that agencies like the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) would get an FSI of up to three, but there would a debate on giving more FSI to private builders because of infrastructure concerns.