September 29, 2025: The Maharashtra government has announced a new policy to regularise buildings in Mumbai lacking an Occupation Certificate (OC), citing delays due to land transfers or administrative hurdles. Officials estimate that nearly 25,000 buildings in the city could benefit. However, senior advocate and President of the Cooperative Societies Residents Association, Vinod Sampat, has criticised the move, claiming it absolves developers of responsibility.
Sampat explained that many residents unknowingly take possession of flats without OCs, often under the impression that approvals are in process. “It is the builder who makes the flat purchasers take possession for furnishing, interior work, etc. Most of the time, the residents are not aware that the building lacks regularisation on paper. They are under the impression that it is in process, and they start residing without OC,” he said.
He added that this lack of awareness allows builders to take advantage of buyers. “Yes, the builders take undue advantage of the situation, and residents suffer. Firstly, BMC charges more money for providing water connections on humanitarian grounds. Secondly, many times the developers have violated certain norms during construction, which at times cannot be regularised. Thereby, the builder makes flat purchasers scapegoats and vanishes with the money.”
On the new policy, Sampat remarked, “The government is allowing the builders to go scot-free. Why doesn’t the government take action against the builders, send them to jail for not obtaining OC? Also, this announcement is more of an election gimmick ahead of the BMC elections. It is a win-win situation for all—the residents, builders, and government.”
He further estimated that “since 1947, not more than 25% of the buildings have got OC. Including BMC, SRA, and MHADA, and other agencies, there must be more than 1 lakh such buildings in the city.”
Source: The Free Press Journal
