Strict Vigil: A residential building under construction in the city. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, May 31: Look for a no objection certificate (NOC) of the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) before you leap to buy your dream home.

The BMC council passed a resolution to put up signboards in front of all multi-storeyed buildings that are yet to obtain NOCs from the civic body. The signboards will act as warning to prospective buyers of properties.

The resolution was passed at the council’s meeting yesterday where the councillors discussed the issue of granting NOCs to building.

The councillors also urged the civic administration to implement mandatory NOC norms that examines sewerage, drain and road communication aspects of multi-storeyed residential complexes.

The 74th amendment to the Indian Constitution have urban local bodies with power in the planning of structures coming up within its limits. But as the BMC is yet to develop a full-fledged planning unit, the Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) continues to approve building plans.

However, as BMC directly looks after roads, sewers and drains, their NOC certificate is crucial for building approval.

“With councillors unanimously demanding mandatory NOC provisions during several meetings in the past, the council passed the resolution yesterday to place signboards in front of buildings that do not have BMC clearance. The signboards will also warn prospective buyers that if they buy a flat at complexes that did not possess mandatory NOC, they might face the music along with the developer of the property or the builder,’’ said BMC public information officer Dillip Kumar Routrai.

Councillor of ward No. 49 Amaresh Jena said: “The step will also make people aware about the importance of NOC. In some cases, the builders are opting for obtaining NOC after getting their plans approved by the BDA, which is absolutely illegal. Two multi-storeyed structures are coming up in my area violating NOC norms. I have informed the civic authorities about the structures. The developers have not bothered to think about their sewerage and drainage outlets before going for the construction.’’

D.C. Mishra, a senior citizen and resident of Bivab Estate near Soubhagya Nagar, welcomed the decision. “When we purchased houses in our colony, the main drain was built with a particular slope. Now there is an obstruction due to construction of a wall and the drain has to change its course.

“But at present, wastewater gets blocked in the drain and it cannot be connected to the BMC sewer at one end of Soubhagya Nagar. Even engineers constructing the 100-ft road nearby are not willing to include the load of the colony drain into their main drain on the side of the road,’’ he said.

“Had we enquired about the NOC and checked the drainage plan, we would have been living happily now. At least in five houses, snakes have sneaked in through the pipes as wastewater is not getting cleared. We are in a quandary when it rains heavily and the main drain gets choked completely,” he added.

The BDA authorities have also detected more than 100 cases where developers did not apply for NOCs.

The planning authority is going to initiate action against them so that in future developers do not go ahead constructing a building without the mandatory nod from the authorities.