More than 25,000 buildings to get occupation certificates under new policy: Ashish Shelar 

For lakhs of Mumbaikars, this decision assumes significance as despite residing in their own homes for many years, they have been legally considered ‘unauthorized occupants’.

The fault did not lie with the residents but arose due to loopholes in past regulations or lapses on the part of developers.

According to Shelar, “To address this, the Urban Development Department will roll out a new policy from October 2.”

Under this policy, he said, “technical or administrative lapses made during construction will be rectified, and buildings will be granted OCs through a simplified process.”

Similarly, buildings that were denied OCs due to issues such as differences in sanctioned floor area, setback-related hurdles, etc, will also get relief, he said.

Further, he noted that buildings stalled due to changes in regulations or policies will also be regularised. Even in cases where citizens faced difficulties because developers failed to hand over reserved areas/ flats to the administration, the path for granting OCs will be opened. The process will be implemented transparently through an online system.

Housing societies are encouraged to take the initiative to apply for OCs. Under the new policy, societies may apply jointly or individually, and a partial OC (Part-OC) can also be obtained. If any building applies for an OC or Part-OC within the first six months, no penalty will be levied. However, if additional FSI has been used, the required premium will have to be paid.

Expressing gratitude for this greatly reassuring decision for Mumbaikars, Shelar congratulated Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, and the departmental officials concerned. He also appealed to Mumbaikars to seize this opportunity when the policy comes into effect on October 2.

Former MP Gopal Shetty, local MLA Manisha Chaudhary, BJP office-bearers from North Mumbai, and senior officials of the departments concerned were present at this meeting held at Mantralaya.