Pune: A no-objection certificate from PMC’s land acquisition department would be mandatory for building permissions on plots adjacent to roads proposed under Section 210 of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporations Act, 1949.“No provisional or final construction approval shall be granted in cases that do not include the NOC (no-objection certificate) from the land acquisition department. The move aims to safeguard the planning process of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and bring uniformity to the construction permission procedure,” said Pune municipal commissioner Naval Kishore Ram.PMC last week issued a circular in this regard. The decision applies to all new construction proposals, redevelopment projects, ground-floor or extension works and occupancy certificates for plots adjacent to or within prescribed road-widening lines.Under the new directive, the construction permission department must verify the exact plot area affected by the prescribed regular line of the street, the status of the actual possession of land for road-widening or compensation paid and the correct front margin required as per the revised road width with the land acquisition department before granting approvals. “If any permission is granted without following this procedure, the executive engineer or the deputy engineer of the respective zone would be held personally responsible for any losses incurred,” stated the circular.Activists and urban planners hailed the civic administration’s decision, but said it should be implemented on the ground properly. “Many such initiatives and orders issued earlier have remained on paper,” said Vijay Kumbhar of Surajya Sangharsh Samiti, a citizens’ group.Many developers, civic officials and political party members allegedly join hands to exploit constructions along proposed roads for commercial benefits. Activists said they try to obtain more FSI (floor space index) and TDR (transferable development rights). They allegedly claim that the road would be wider and, therefore, benefits granted for construction along wider roads should be extended to them. Some developers deceive homebuyers by claiming that a road had been proposed before its final approval, activists said.
