Bhubaneswar: Facing heat from Supreme Court over rampant misuse of residential properties, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has served public notices on 4,632 house owners in all three zones, whose premises were found to be allegedly operating commercial activities.Owners have been given a month’s time to furnish documents proving the nature of use, with the civic body warning that non-compliant properties would be deemed unauthorised and sealed. BMC on Tuesday also submitted an action taken report on the same in SC, BMC officials said.“Field functionaries conducted survey and physical verification regarding the use of buildings for non-residential/commercial purposes. Hence, the owners/developers of enlisted residential premises allegedly being used for non-residential/commercial purposes are hereby directed to submit relevant documents in support of case,” the notice said.The notice added that in case relevant documents are not submitted, the residential premises shall be treated as unauthorised/illegal and action shall be taken as per provision of law.BMC has sought documents such as approved building plan for non-residential/commercial /institutional use and occupancy and completion certificates as required under the Odisha Development Authority (ODA) Act. “We have served public notice (not individual notice) and published on our website as well for people to know. The sooner they submit relevant documents with respective zones, the better,” said BMC commissioner Chanchal Rana.In the notice, BMC has enclosed the full list including names and addresses of house owners, whose houses have come under the scanner for alleged use of residential building for commercial purposes.Earlier, BMC officials had pointed out during the survey that residential buildings were being converted for commercial purposes without taking due approval from planning authority. Hiding information about commercial use of a residential structure does not augur well for BMC’s revenue generation, as the tax slab for commercial holdings is significantly higher than that for residential holdings, BMC officials said.They said of a total 1.19 lakh buildings (holdings) enumerated by BMC in 2024 for holding tax collection, the exact break-up of commercial buildings is not known, making it a continuing process. “We have intimated the list of suspected buildings being used for commercial purposes to the BMC commissioner. Survey is in progress. By the end of it, we might come across many more violations. Also, total holdings may cross 2 lakh,” said a BMC officer.
