MUMBAI, Oct. 14 -- In the wake of serious allegations surrounding the misuse of a key development control regulation (DCR) related to road-widening, the BMC has issued notices to all ward officers in the island city. Nine assistant commissioners, from Wards A (Colaba) to F South (Parel), have been asked to submit detailed records on the implementation of Regulation 33(12)(B) under the Development Control and Promotion Regulations (DCPR). HT has seen the notice issued by Ashwini Joshi, additional municipal commissioner (city) on October 7, a day after HT reported the allegations. The internal BMC report raised concerns on how the bottleneck removal policy-meant to streamline the road-widening scheme and rehabilitate displaced residents-is being arbitrarily and selectively applied. Instead of prioritising three roads at a time, ward officials have been drawing up multiple road-widening lists simultaneously, resulting in incomplete demolitions, unfinished roads. The BMC report focuses on the alleged corruption happening under the scheme. RTI activist and whistleblower Santosh Daundkar, who first flagged the irregularities in 2023, said, "Under these schemes, developers are acquiring structures from eligible individuals at very low prices, often by obtaining affidavits from them," he said. "In many cases, these individuals are not provided with rehabilitation flats as promised. Instead, the developers sell the flats at ready reckoner rates, earning significant profits." Joshi, in her note, has directed the island city wards to submit specific details and photographic evidence of the number of structures surveyed under the scheme, the issuance of Annexure-2 documents, the status of demolition notices and data on how many PAPs have been successfully relocated. Daundkar emphasised the need for a formal inquiry against the developers and BMC officers involved, and the registration of criminal proceedings against offenders."...