Special team to spot illegal changes in flats

Linah Baliga TNN 

Mumbai: The BMC is bolstering its mechanism to detect and demolish unauthorized construction or alterations in a building or apartment by bringing in a team of empowered officials and making them personally responsible for removing them. 
    From this May, at least 65 assistant engineers across all 24 administrative wardsin the city will keep an eye on under-construction buildings and even existing houses for signs of transgressions, issue notices and ensure demolition of unauthorized constructions in a time-bound manner. 
    And for the first time, if these officials fail to demolish unauthorized constructions after they have been detected in their wards, the civic body can slap a fine of Rs 10,000 or send them to prison for three months. 

 Citizens & activists can tip off new BMC team on illegal constructions 
    The BMC has put 65 assistant engineers on duty across all 24 wards to check illegal constructions or modifications in buildings or flats. This has been made possible by amendments made in the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act and the BMC Act by the state government last year. On the basis of the amendments, a circular will be sent to the removal of encroachment (RE), building proposal and building and factories departments of the BMC in the next three days and the assistant engineers will start work full swing from May. 
    “The role of the assistant engineers is to detect unauthorized constructions, issue notices as per provisions of law, hear the parties, pass an order if any structure is unauthorized and subsequently demolish it,” said Mohan Adtani, additional municipal commissioner. 
    An officer will be charged with dereliction of duty if it is seen that a transgression has come to the notice of the designated officer and yet no action has been initiated. 
    “There will be self-detection as well as representation from citizens and activists. The mukadams, sub-engineers and junior engineers of the building proposal department will make daily rounds of their areas and report to the assistant engineers. The assistant engineers will have full power to decide whether a structure is authorized or not and then pass an order. He will then seek assistance and machinery for demolition,” said Adtani. 
    In the sights of the BMC’s bull-dozers are not only builders, but also flat-owners who have made unauthorized alterations to their apartments by enclosing flower beds, ducts or dry areas, knocked down internal walls or surrounded their flats with grills. 
    Adtani told TOI that each administrative ward will have 2-3 assistant engineers, who will be in charge of three councillor wards each. 
    “Whatever is not permitted by the building proposal department becomes an unauthorized construction. The removal of encroachment department will check whether the constructions are in accordance with permissions granted or not. The assistant engineers will be informed accordingly,” said Adtani. 
    When asked whether illegal floors can be regularized by paying a penalty, Adtani said: “If the construction isn’t in accordance with the permission granted, it cannot be regularized. But BMC will not take action against buildings coming up under the purview of the slum rehabilitation authority and the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (MMRDA).”  

BMC’S DEMOLITION MEN 
65 assistant engineers will start off from May They will sniff out unauthorized constructions Follow up, and, if needed, complete demolition in timebound manner Failure will attract a fine of 10,000 or imprisonment for three months Transgressions by builders and house-owners under scanner Each ward there will be 2-3 assistant engineers Move comes after last year’s amendment to the Maharashtra Regional Town Planning Act and BMC Act  

THE GAME CHANGER 
Now, BMC has different officers taking action against illegal construction There is no co-ordination From May, assistant engineers will be responsible for all transgressions Sub-engineers, junior engineers, mukadams will alert them. They have to act or face penalty.


Source:::: The Times of India, 03-04-2013, p.01, http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIM&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW

Builders Cut out of Resale Deals

If developers do not give conveyance certificates, Govt. will

Sudhir Suryawanshi l Mumbai

Developers will no longer have a say in redevelopment or resale plans, the state government recently announced. So if you are still to get the conveyance certificate of your flat, do not despair. The state housing department has a backup plan. If a builder has failed to give a conveyance certificate within four months of completion and handing over flats, the local deputy registrar’s office will issue a deemed certificate.  This effectively means no objection certificates from developers will not be needed anymore. It is well-known that builders/developers deliberately hold on to conveyance certificates even after handing over flats to buyers. Till now certificates were a must for redeveloping or reselling flats. Even banks made NOCs from developers compulsory while disbursing home loans. Ramesh Prabhu, chairman of Maharashtra Societies Welfare Association (MSWA), said developers often exploited buyers in the name of certificates. “They charge Rs500 per square feet on average while giving NOCs in connection with resale of flats or seeking bank loans to buy a flat or registering housing societies or simply going for redevelopment,” he said. “I hope, this new circular will curb the malpractice in the housing sector.” The state housing department has already informed the property registration and stamp duty department and the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO). “The deputy registration officials at the district level will call a housing society and the building’s developer if certificates are not issued,” Prabhu said. “And they will issue deemed certificates in case the builder hasn’t issue any within four months of handing over flats.”  Advocate Mahendra Sandhanshiv said the state housing department’s decision will stop developers from exploiting flat buyers. “As it is housing rates are very high. And then there is developer’s commission in exchange of NOC. “Even after selling a flat, a developer continues to reap monetary benefits by holding on to certificates,” he said. “Now that will stop.” Despite repeated attempts, Paras Gundecha, president of the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry, could not be contacted. Source::::: DNA, 01-10-2012, p.01.  http://epaper.dnaindia.com/

Pay 5% VAT for flats bought from 2006-10

TIMES NEWS NETWORK 

Mumbai: Thousands of people who bought flats between 2006 and 2010 will have to pay value added tax (VAT) at the rate of 5% of the value with retrospective effect. On August 6, the state’s sales tax department issued a circular to developers saying VAT would be levied on flats, shops and bungalows sold by them between June 20, 2006 and March 31, 2010 . Several Mumbai-based developers said they would soon send VAT collection notices to such flat purchasers. 
 
    The new burden on a customer who bought a flat at Rs 50 lakh works out to a minimum of Rs 2.5 lakh. ‘VAT on flat will hit buyers’ Mumbai: The state government intends to collect around Rs 1,000 crore from VAT on sale of flats for this four-year period. The Bombay HC recently rejected real estate developers’ appeal against the tax. MCHI-CREDAI and CREDAI-Pune Metro, which represented the developers, have now moved the SC with a special leave petition. 
 
    MCHI-CREDAI said each flat buyer in Maharashtra will have to pay up to 5% additional taxes for flat purchased by them along with interest at 15% per annum and penal interest at 25% that the state government is levying. Flat buyers are already reeling under the pressure of 3.09% service tax which has been implemented by the central government. Atul Puranik of the Centre for Fair Business Practices, said: “The cost of living is going up every day. The 5% VAT plus penal interest will further cripple the common man. We appeal to the government to scrap VAT on sale of flats altogether and give much-needed relief to the customer.’’ 
 
    The Maharashtra government had imposed 5% VAT on flat sales following the order of the Supreme Court in the case of K Raheja versus Karnataka government. Property experts said this led to an anomaly as the taxation system followed in Karnataka is totally different from the one prevailing in Maharashtra. “Unlike Maharashtra, Karnataka does not have the ‘Ownership of Flat Act’ and therefore developers in that state prepare two separate sets of documents—one for the share of land on which stamp duty is levied and another on construction on which no stamp duty is paid,’’ they said. The Maharashtra government subsequently reduced VAT on sale of flats to 1% from April 1, 2010.

Source:::: The Times of India, 24-08-2012, p.01. http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIM&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW