Nagpur: 3,000 buildings without occupancy certificate, civic body notices 700
Nagpur Municipal Corporation finds nearly 3,000 buildings occupied without occupancy certificates and issues notices to 700 builders and owners.
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A major issue concerning building safety and construction norms has come to light in Nagpur. According to an assessment by the town planning department, nearly 3,000 buildings in the city do not have an occupancy certificate (OC).
Surprisingly, all these buildings are still shown as incomplete or under construction in the civic body's records, even though thousands of families are already living in them. As soon as the matter came to light, the town planning department moved quickly and sent legal notices to 700 major builders and house owners.
The matter came to light after Nagpur Municipal Corporation's town planning department closely examined maps approved between 2021 and 2024. The examination found that builders collected full payment from buyers after selling flats but did not take responsibility for obtaining the OC for the building. On the other hand, in the lure of cheap housing, ordinary people also bought flats without checking for an OC. As a result, thousands of people are now living in these buildings while putting their lives at risk.
Municipal Commissioner Dr Vipin Itankar has made it clear that this is only the beginning. According to him, notices will be sent to the remaining 2,300 illegal buildings over the next 15 days. The administration's aim is to curb the rising illegal construction in the city and enforce rules strictly.
Innocent home buyers are now paying the price for this negligence by builders and developers. Because there is no OC, these buyers are unable to get home loans from banks, nor can they resell their flats. On top of that, there is the added fear of further action by the civic body. The corporation has appealed to people to thoroughly check whether a building's OC has been issued before buying any flat or house in future, in order to avoid being cheated.
When construction of any building is complete, the civic body checks whether it is fit for habitation. This involves checking fire safety, vehicle parking and the structural safety of the building, among other requirements, and the OC is issued only if everything is found in order. Under the rules, living in any building without an OC is considered completely illegal. None of these 3,000 buildings in the city has undergone a structural audit or a fire safety check, raising serious questions about safety in the event of any accident.
In the first phase of action against illegal construction, the town planning department has issued strict notices to 700 building owners. In the notice, the civic body has warned that the water and drainage connections of the buildings will be cut off, double the penalty will be levied on property tax, and if the violation continues, the entire building could be sealed.
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