Building project details to be put up on BMC website soon

Mumbai: The state government will put up all project details on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) website to make the building approval process transparent. Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan announced the move at a one-hour meeting with 20 members of the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI) and senior officials. 

    "Developers will be able to track the department currently considering his project. It was suggested as developers said they have had to bribe unscrupulous employees to ensure speedy approvals of their project,'' said senior officials. 

    Building proposals currently have to be approved within 60 days. "Developers will now have to submit complete plans which will then be considered by various agencies including the building proposals department,'' said senior government officials. If a project is not cleared within 60 days, the developer can approach a redressal committee to be formed by the civic chief. 

    However, the MCHI, which had prepared a list of 10 demands including a speedy approval process, was disappointed on other issues as Chavan either rejected them or merely gave assurances. For instance, he rejected a developer's demand to scrap the need to seek approval for heights of buildings, especially those near the airport, from the ministry of civil aviation (MCA). Sources said Chavan did not seem comfortable as officials pointed out the lack of accountability in an air disaster. "The MCA is an expert body to ensure smooth flight path. In an air disaster, they will be responsible, not the civic body,'' said an official. 

    Following complaints about the delay in forming a new rental housing policy, Chavan called a meeting next week to finalise the same.

CM Prithviraj Chavan has called a meeting to finalise rental housing