‘Signboards must be put up outside illegal structures’

NAVI MUMBAI: Speaking on the concerns raised over illegal constructions in the city by civic standing committee members and the general public, SC chairman Sampat Shevale asked the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation ( NMMC) to put up signboards outside illegal structures to warn citizens.

The issue assumes significance in the wake of the collapse of the seven-storey building in Mumbra, which killed 74. The structure was built without requisite permissions.

“As per new regulations, the ward officer is responsible for illegal constructions in his/her ward and can be suspended for dereliction of duty. Despite this, there are illegal constructions in the city,” said Shevale.

He said that many a times, a person invests in a house only to realize later that it is an illegal structure. “It is the common man who suffers the most. The builders get away. I have asked the NMMC to put up signboards at illegal construction sites to warn residents.”

“The administration cannot be so callous about the issue. It must come down heavily on such constructions and submit to us the details of action taken,” he said.

The Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI), a developers’ body, has written to the government and nodal agencies demanding immediate action against unauthorised constructions in Panvel and surrounding areas.

“We have tried to draw the attention of the authorities concerned to the unauthorised flats being built in Raigad district through our letters to the chief minister, urban development secretary Manu Kumar Srivastav, Raigad collector HK Jawle and Cidco managing director Sanjay Bhatia,” said Rajesh Prajapati, president, MCHI (Raigad).

However, there has been no action, he said.“The authorities seem to have taken a very casual approach toward a major problem. Only a couple of days ago, we received a letter from the government informing us that they will look into this issue.”