Pimpri: Despite drastically reducing the penalty charges, so far only 24 owners of unauthorised constructions have applied for the regularisation to Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC). 

This is despite the fact that the deadline to regularise constructions ended on April 30. Now, the PCMC has sought a further extension.

Executive Engineer of PCMC Makrand Nikam said, “The process of regularisation of unauthorised constructions began on November 1, 2017. Its six-month term expired on April 30, 2018. Now the municipal corporation has sought an extension to this deadline. A proposal has been sent regarding this in the last week.”

The State government had announced draft rules to authorise unauthorised constructions in the State including in  Pimpri-Chinchwad in July 2017. This rule was called ‘Maharashtra Town Planning (Combined Structure) Rules 2017’. The government had declared that unauthorised constructions before October 31, 2015 will be regularised. The government had clarified that constructions encroaching upon rivers, canals, flood lines, red zones, historical places, garbage depots, hill slopes, hill-tops and dilapidated unauthorised constructions will not be authorised.

Prior to this, a committee led by senior IAS officer Sitaram Kunte was appointed, to conduct a study and recommended a formula for regularisation of maximum number of constructions. 

However, despite the High Court order for demolition of all unauthorised constructions, the PCMC authorities are preferring to go slow on this front. 

Meanwhile, in order to bring some relaxation in stringent terms and conditions, the civic body had proposed the change in the rules through a resolution.