Revenue minister Bawankule defends Nashik municipal commissioner’s order on Mhada NOC exemption for large construction projects

Nashik: State revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Wednesday said Nashik municipal commissioner's order stating that large construction projects no longer needed to obtain a no-objection certificate (NOC) from Mhada was aligned with existing state govt norms.He made the statement while responding to a calling attention motion raised by MLA Devyani Pharande, who questioned the validity of the municipal commissioner's directive during the state assembly session on Tuesday.Last year, NMC commissioner Manisha Khatri had issued an order stating that residential projects on plots measuring 4,000sqm or more did not require Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada)'s NOC. Pharande objected to this exemption, especially in the context of the ongoing Mhada scam involving alleged violations of the mandatory 20% reservation for economically weaker section (EWS) housing in large residential projects.On March 7, a cheating case was registered at the Sarkarwada police station against over 150 landowners and developers for allegedly bypassing the 20% EWS housing requirement for projects above 4,000sqm. The FIR followed a complaint by a land records department officer based on an inquiry conducted by a committee led by the additional district collector. The inquiry examined whether developers complied with state housing policies of 2013 and 2017, which mandated that 20% of land in large projects must be reserved for EWS housing. Within NMC limits, this reserved land must be allotted through MHADA to eligible EWS beneficiaries.