Need to stop illegal buildings from coming up

The BMC has received complaints about 49 such studios that came up between 2021 and 2022 in the no-development zone of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)

BMC chief Iqbal Singh Chahal ordered an inquiry into alleged illegal studios in Madh, Marve, Erangal, Bhati and Malad. The roles of officials from the civic body and the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) are also under scanner, recent reports said.

The BMC has received complaints about 49 such studios that came up between 2021 and 2022 in the no-development zone of the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ). There are allegations that thousands of square metres of such studios are built without proper permission, fraudulent documents forged with the help of BMC and MCZMA officials, Chahal stated in a written order. A copy is with this paper.

Now, a probe has been set in motion and there is a stipulated timeline of four weeks. If these studios are illegal, they should be removed. Yet, the probe which should wield solid results and be completed within a timeframe, must also go to the root of the problem. If the studios are to be demolished, the focus should be on how they were allowed to come up in the first place.

If officials were complicit, then how and why were they so? How deep goes the rot within the system? Why do we allow illegal structures to come up in the first place? They flourish and then action is taken against them when red flags are raised. Many a time, they are eventually ‘regularised’ by civic authorities. This latter aspect actually emboldens wrongdoers as they are secure in the knowledge that even though not allowed initially, they can get them ‘regularised’.

It is time to take a holistic look at this phenomenon which is common in the city. So, while the studio probe is on, a wider lens can throw light on more such illegal construction elsewhere and can be a catalyst to dig deep into the roots of the problem and then, remove it altogether.

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