Pune: To reign in illegal religious structures, the State government has made it mandatory to obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC)  from the Home Department before any construction, renovation or reconstruction of a religious structure.

A government resolution was issued on May 7. Now, all municipal corporations and municipal councils have to send a proposal regarding religious structures to the Urban Development Department before giving an approval. Municipal commissioners and district collectors will forward the files. If a structure is in a gram panchayat area, then the district collector will send the file to the Revenue/Forest Department. 

After getting proposals from the municipal corporations, municipal councils and gram panchayats, the Urban Development, Revenue/Forest Department will have to send the file to the Home Department for getting the (NOC). The Home Department will get feedback from the concerned police commissioner/superintendent of police (SP) and forward the NOC to the Urban Development Department after considering the law and order situation and traffic in the area.