BMC to clear building plans in 60 days

Mumbai: Civic officials will no longer be able to delay a builder's project file. A circular issued by the civic administration on Tuesday warned the BMC's building proposals (BP) staff that "any lapse in approving building plans within 60 days will be viewed seriously". 

    The new guidelines come barely weeks after the state government approved the new Development Control Rules (DCR), which seek to curb large-scale misuse of building concessions by developers. To halt this malpractice, the amended rule allows developers 35% extra area to build residential buildings and 20% additional area for commercial projects in lieu of a hefty premium to be paid to the municipal body. BMC time-frames could cut bribes Mumbai: Municipal commissioner 
Subodh Kumar on Tuesday finalized guidelines 
for time-bound approval of building plans and fixing responsibility in the civic hierarchy. Officials could delay building plans for extraneous reasons by seeking irrelevant information, which forced builders to pay bribes for faster clearance. 
    Last year, the Practicing Engineers', Architects' and Town Planners' Association (PEATA), the oldest and largest body representing the professionals, said it took an average 558 man days for Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) permission. 
    The circular said responsibility for approving layouts, sub-division and amalgamation of plots will vest with the executive engineer (BP). He will ensure proposals are decided within 60 days from the date of acceptance. "The process is to be completed in 43 working days or 60 days at the most. Any case which is not approved within this time limit will be brought to the notice of the municipal commissioner by the executive engineer (BP) concerned,'' it said. 
    Building proposals up to 600 sq m in the island city and 2,500 sq m in suburbs will be processed by the sub-engineer, assistant engineer, executive engineer, deputy chief engineer, chief engineer (development plan) and municipal commissioner. The BMC's director (engineering services & projects) has been taken off from the chain. 
    However, proposals for plots over 600 sq m in the island city and more than 2,500 sq m in suburbs will be sent to the director but not deputy chief engineer. 
    The circular said no-objection certificates from civic departments must be submitted to the BP section within two weeks. If not, it will be presumed they have no remarks. But if any deficiency arises out of "non receipt of such NOC/remarks from the department, the executive engineer of that department shall be held responsible''. 
    "Time-limits for scrutiny and disposal of proposals by departments, including BP department, shall be strictly adhered to… Any lapse by the BP staff and staff of other departments will be viewed seriously,'' said the circular. 
    Last November, TOI had reported how the building approval process was caught in a bureaucratic rigmarole. Developers and architects complained that projects, mainly those over 20,000 sq m, and which have to be cleared by many committees, could take over a year to commence. The Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act stipulates that a decision must be taken within 60 days or it will be deemed approved. Construction industry sources said officials circumvented the rule. The new circular could end delaying tactics.