90% Mumbra buildings illegal or irregular: CM

Mumbai: Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan claimed that nine out of 10 buildings in Thane's Mumbra region were either illegal or irregular and hinted at plans to regularize most of them, on Friday. 

    The chief minister also announced the suspension of deputy municipal commissioner Deepak Chavan for dereliction of duty and K P Naik, senior inspector of Daighar police station, for allegedly colluding with builders of the ill-fated apartment. 
    A case has been registered under Sections 304, 336, 337 and 338 of the Indian Penal Code against developers Jamir Qureshi and Salim Shaikh, he said. The next of kin of the deceased will be given Rs2 lakh each from the chief minister's relief fund, while the injured will be given Rs 50,000 each. 
    The CM said, during a discussion on the Thane building collapse in the upper house, that the government planned to compound or club those that that are illegal but structurally sound. Such buildings could have the option for redevelopment under 33(5) of the development control regulation, which will soon be applicable throughout the Mumbai metropolitan region (MMR). The regulation is applicable to only Mhada land in Mumbai. These buildings will also be covered under the cluster redevelopment scheme, which will also be applied throughout MMR. Common DC rules for MMR will soon be brought out, Chavan said. 
    He said that a separate brownfield town planning scheme was being worked out for buildings that are illegal and 
dangerous. He, however, said various committees appointed by the government had opposed giving such buildings incentive FSI for redevelopment. 
    He said there are over 1,100 such buildings in Thane alone and added that they also exist in other urban and semi-urban areas in the state. 
    Suggesting that the illegal construction business was related to the supply-demand gap for affordable houses, Chavan said the government was trying to bridge it. He said the crash will be probed by a top official.