The cabinet has also decided to make construction without prior permission of the civic authorities, a cognisable offence. Also, stringent action will be taken against those interrupting demolition of an unauthorised structure. Most importantly, the BMC Act will be amended to prohibit a person responsible for unauthorised constructions from moving court and getting a stay order on the notice of demolition served by civic authorities.

Asked if action would be initiated against a ward officer for unauthorised structures in his/her ward, Chief Minister Narayan Rane, who announced the government move at a press conference at Mantralaya this afternoon, said the officers would have to face action according to provisions of law. The earlier government had amended the BMC Act so as to hold the ward officerresponsible for illegal constructions.

However, the cabinet is yet to decide on who would be the competent authority for disqualifying an erring corporator. At the district level, it is the district collector who takes this decision, but whether the Mumbai district collector or the municipal commissioner would be the ruling authority in the metropolis is yet unclear.

``The cabinet today decided to amend Sections 16 and 19 of the BMC Act, so that a corporator could be disqualified if he is found guilty of carrying out illegal constructions or shielding them from being demolished by the civic authorities,'' Rane said. It has also been decided to empower the municipal commissioner to take a final decision on immediate removal of all new unauthorised constructions, seize/confiscate the material being used for these constructions and initiate action against the guilty.

Rane parried questions on action taken against corporators accused of protecting illegal structures in Mumbai, Thane, Ulhasnagar andMira-Bhayander. Asked what action the government had taken on the Nand Lal committee's report on irregularities in Thane, Mira-Bhayander and Ulhasnagar and on BMC deputy municipal commissioner Chandrashekhar Rokade's recommendation to charge 17 BMC corporators under MPDA, Rane merely replied a final decision would be taken at the proper time. He said no decision has been made on transferring cases involving unauthorised constructions to the Lokayukta, though Rane's predecessor Manohar Joshi had announced these cases would be referred to the Lokayukta for further action.

The CM added the temporary halt in demolitions during monsoons would be applicable only to residential structures. He said irregularities in commercial establishments and encroachments on roads would not be spared even during monsoon.

Nand Lal recommends dissolution of UMC

Principal secretary Nand Lal, who conducted a probe into irregularities in the Ulhasnagar Municipal Corporation (UMC), has recommended that the Ulhasnagarcorporation be dissolved with immediate effect. Chief Minister Narayan Rane said Nand Lal had submitted his report to the government, and the government would act on the report only after studying it. He said the government receives various such proposals and recommendations but it was not proper to take action without a thorough study of the same.