PEATA seminar in Dadar draws societies without OCs seeking BMC's amnesty scheme

About 19,000 buildings in Mumbai have yet to receive an occupancy certificate (OC). To explain the amnesty scheme the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has brought in for these buildings, PEATA, the Practising Engineers, Architects and Town Planners Association, held a free awareness seminar in Dadar on Tuesday. Representatives of housing societies and flat owners attended in large numbers. PEATA ran the initiative without charging any fee, in the interest of the public.

Ashish Shelar, Guardian Minister of Mumbai Suburban district, spoke at the event. He said the need to grant OCs to affected residents was urgent. He also suggested that ward-wise campaigns be run to reach residents stuck without OCs. However, the organisers and representatives of the municipal corporation said that taking the scheme to people is the corporation's own job. They said the BMC should publicise it as vigorously as the Income Tax department advertises tax amnesty schemes.

After the event, Loy Dias, vice-president of Voice of Kalina-ALM in Kalina and a social activist, issued a detailed statement. He is 89 years old and a retired civil engineer. He said the scheme was bound to fail because people have no information about it and the eligibility cut-off date is strict. Dias said: "People know nothing about the eligibility criteria and, more importantly, the scheme is only for buildings completed and occupied before November 17, 2016. Why should all buildings built and occupied up to March 31, 2026 not have the right to apply?"

Dias made four demands for changes: that all buildings occupied up to March 31, 2026 be made eligible; that heavy financial penalties on affected residents be waived; that the registration of defaulting builders and architects be frozen until the cases are settled; and that the files of the Buildings & Proposal Department be audited and nodal officers be appointed in every ward office.

PEATA has started a helpdesk for applicants, with the email address [email protected]. It has also announced a social media campaign to guide applicants. Those involved hope that PEATA's technical intervention and software fixes will take the number of applications beyond the initial single-digit figures.

According to PEATA president Yomesh Rao, societies stuck in the application process got immediately useful solutions from the seminar. Following the demands raised at the event, the BMC has removed an automatic restriction in its AutoDCR software. As a result, societies that own their land can now apply directly. It was also made clear that societies that own their land, and applicants holding an NOC from the landowner or developer, are fully eligible to apply.

However, individual flat owners and societies that do not own their land are still stuck. They are waiting for clear instructions from the Urban Development department. Applying under the amnesty scheme does not reduce or give up flat owners' legal rights. They can continue to pursue cases against defaulting builders in consumer forums or civil courts to recover their costs.

Rao said: "The amnesty scheme is an important opportunity for residents to regularise their properties, but society members must themselves take the initiative to understand the technical process and put their home documents in order."