Govt instructs KMC not to sanction building plans without conversion certificate

As a result, sanction of building plans in 44 wards has become a major problem. The plans are piling up in KMC. The step has been taken at the insistence of Mamata Banerjee who wants the paper work before sanction should be made foolproof.

It may be mentioned here that CPI(M) government had brought three major  areas – Jadavpur, Behala and  Garden Reach under KMC in 1984 just to establish its control over the area. There were 41 wards spreading over these areas which are called the added areas. In 2014, three more areas under Joka Panchayat were added to KMC, taking the total number of wards to 144. CPI(M) thought that people in the added areas would always vote for the party.

At the same time CPI(M) allowed promoters to fill up water bodies to make room for highrises on the reclaimed land. The result was disastrous. There are more than 2.50 lakh dwelling units in the added areas which were constructed after 1985. Most of the buildings do not have building plans. CPI(M) also ensured that the owners of the new flats would not have to pay property tax at par with the main city area.

Mamata Banerjee wanted to streamline the land related issues and instructed the Municipal Affairs department that to apply for building plan one should submit mutation certificates and conversion certificates from BLLRO. This will show whether the land is a reclaimed one or an agricultural land.

Senior officials of Municipal Affairs department said once the certificate was obtained the KMC would have a clear picture about the nature of the land. They said that the builders did not take any precaution and constructed seven or eight storey buildings on land which used to be water bodies. Now, as under the present system the character of the land would be known, the KMC would ask the builders to take additional measures to construct on the reclaimed land.

Meanwhile, the KMC has started online sanction of building plans in all the 144 wards. The civic authorities have taken one month to one and a half month to clear the plan. This has reduced hassle of the owners. Once the owners of plots in the added areas get clearance they will also get sanction of plans for the proposed buildings within a month or so.