A township caught in illegal tangle

Despite four building collapses in the past 15 years,in which more than 20 lives (including seven children) were lost,only eight of these 296 buildings have been vacated so far and two razed. A majority of these were constructed using inferior quality sand during 1986-1995 when local strongman,criminal-turned-MLA Pappu Kalani supported builders in putting up structures. Kalani was a four-time MLA whose clout suffered when he was arrested in 1992 under TADA.

Being the biggest refugee camp in the country for those displaced by the Partition,Ulhasnagar started out with problems right at the onset. Originally,known as Kalyan Military transit camp,Ulhasnagar was set up especially to accommodate 6,000 soldiers and their families during World War II. Post-independence,94,400 Sindhis from Pakistan were accommodated in 1,173 barracks that were ideally meant to house not more than 35,000 people. In August 1949,the Ulhasnagar Township Master Plan was prepared but was quickly forgotten,with practically nothing of it being being actually implemented till date.

The state government’s neglect led to the business class of Sindhis fending for themselves,building houses without licence or permission from the local body. Small manufacturing units started mushrooming in the town spread over a mere 15 km. Ulhasnagar was one of the biggest hubs for the manufacture of jeans.

NCP corporator Jyoti Kalani,wife of Pappu Kalani,said the flourishing business and subsequent population explosion are the biggest reasons for encroachment in the city. The 2001 census pegged the population in this area at 5 lakh,a figure that is set to cross 8 lakh in the 2011 census.

“The builder lobby is so strong here that any plan can be passed here. In fact,a number of plans in the name of dead people get passed. Most of this encroachment happens on government land,” she said.

It was only in 1965 that UMC was formed and decision to regularise 30,714 illegal constructions was first taken by the state on May 11,1965. No new illegal structures were to be allowed after this. However,40 years later,on February 14,2006,the state government once again passed a similar ordinance and this time the number of illegal structures reached 1.62 lakh.

The cut-off date for regularisation was set at January 1,2005. The ordinance came after HC,hearing at least four separate PILs relating to rampant illegal construction in Ulhasnagar,directed government to immediately demolish 855 buildings.

Municipal commissioner Balaji Khatgaonkar admits that a mere 10 per cent of the 1.62 lakh structures have come up with legal permissions. “The remaining are illegal. Post the decision to regularise these,only 100 buildings have been regularised so far,owing to a number of stringent norms that need to be met,” he said.

As per National Building Code norms,an illegal building can be regularised only if it meets the requirements of fire safety adequacy and structural stability among others. Moreover,the penalty varies between 10 per cent and 20 per cent of the ready reckoner rate of the property.

Raj Asrondkar,activist and former corporator said there is no trace of builders anymore. “Residents bought houses at very cheap rates 20 years ago. The penalty amount today is as high as Rs 4-5 lakh,which many families do not want to pay. Moreover,after regularisation,if they want the property redeveloped,they can only avail of an FSI of 1 as against the FSI of up to 4 that was consumed on the current unauthorised structures,” he said.

Only a small percentage of buildings has come forward to get the structural stability of their buildings checked. Khatgaonkar said proposals to increase FSI under redevelopment to four and approve cluster redevelopment schemes are pending with the state government.

Asrondkar claims that even after the 2006 ordinance,at least 5,000 illegal structures have come up,of which 2,000 are new. Khatgaonkar disputes the scale,but admits that many new and illegal buildings have come up. “We have received 2,700 complaints of illegal constructions and 600 cases under the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning (MRTP) Act have been registered. We have acted on all of them. In 2012,we demolished 243 illegal structures. No new pucca RCC structure has come up after January 1,2005,” he said.

However,Asrondkar said after regularisation,there were more instances of malpractice. If a plot meant to be reserved for public amenities had one or two structures on it that got regularised,UMC officials,instead of developing the rest of the plot for public,sanctioned new constructions on the same in the guise of regularisation,he alleged.

Another major violation is total non-compliance with the Development Plan (DP) of 1974. “There are no civic amenities such as parks. Constructions have come up on any visible empty plot,notwithstanding that these are reserved for parks,schools or DP roads,” said Raju Jagiasi,leader of opposition in the UMC. Jagiasi was recently accused by Asha Idnani,mayor and member of the ruling SAI (Secular Alliance of India) Party of building illegally over a nullah.

While 145 plots were marked for public amenities as per the 1974 DP,only seven had such amenities,UMC had admitted in its affidavit in the HC in 2003. Forty years later,UMC has come up with a revised DP which many feel is an exercise in futility since 90 per cent of land meant for public amenities is encroached upon. “The DP has tried to create public amenities on plots that are vacant right now,” said Idnani’s husband Jeevan,former mayor and former NCP strongman who later formed the SAI party. Incidentally,one of the 13 pending cases under the MRTP Act registered in 2011-13 is against him.