Maha Forms Panel To Formulate Policy For Regularising Pre-2011 Encroachments In Mumbai, Pune

(MENAFN- IANS) Mumbai, Sep 24 (IANS) In a bid to address urban housing challenges, the Maharashtra government on Thursday constituted a high-level 10-member special committee to draft a comprehensive policy for regularising residential encroachments on government land across Mumbai, Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad.

The committee, chaired by the Divisional Commissioner of Konkan Division, has been tasked with studying existing frameworks and submitting a report with explicit recommendations within three months. The initiative follows directives from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule. The government has issued a Government Resolution (GR) to form the high-level committee.

Headed by the Divisional Commissioner (Konkan Division), the committee comprises District Collectors (Mumbai City, Mumbai Suburban and Pune), representatives from the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA – Mumbai/Pune), representatives from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), representatives from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), representatives from the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) and Superintendents of Land Records (SLR – Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban and Pune). The Joint Commissioner (General Administration) from the Office of the Divisional Commissioner, Konkan Division will function as the member secretary.

Minister Bawankule said the 10-member panel brings together administrative leads and urban planning representatives from across the affected regions.

The committee's terms of reference focus on delivering a cohesive, legally sound operational roadmap. It will review and benchmark existing guidelines from the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA), Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) and other regional planning bodies to design an overarching regularisation policy. It will also draft specific recommendations to resolve complex jurisdictional and administrative issues regarding encroachments on land owned by the Central Government or its public sector undertakings (PSUs).

According to the GR, the committee will complete all consultations, land assessments and stakeholder reviews to submit a final report to the Revenue Department within a strict three-month deadline.

On March 25, 2026, the Revenue Department issued a policy decision allowing the regularisation of residential encroachments existing on state government land before January 1, 2011. However, major metropolitan hubs, specifically the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) areas, were initially excluded from its scope.

Recognising the urgent need for a unified stance in these high-density urban areas, the state government expanded its strategy to cover encroachments on both state and central government lands within these municipal limits, the GR said.

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