Chief minister Narayan Rane on Wednesday announced in the state assembly during separate discussions on calling attention motion and a starred question. Cutting acrosss partylines both ruling and opposition parties vociferously demanded a stern action against the millonwers who had carried out ieegal construction while flouting the provisions of development control rules. These members were also demanding action against the officials of BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation and other government agencies for their inaction against such mills.

Rane said that the committee headed by the urban development secretary K Nalinakshan has already suggested actions against the concerned officials andagainst those mills which have violated the provisions of development control rules.

He said that the Dake committee has been set up on February 9 with a sole purpose to find out a solution for the long pending issues related to the city'sailing textile mills. The industry had favoured the continuation of disposal of excess land through the existing provisions of development control rules. Under these rules the land has been divided into millowner, BMC and Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority.

Rane said that millowners had also sought relief in the rates of water charges, octroi duty and sales tax. "The industry had asured to extend all the possible cooperation for running the mills in Mumbai," he added.

The chief minister however, said that certain trade unions had strongly opposed the division of land into three parts. These unions have alleged that certain mills though sold out land under the provisions of development control rules, they have failed to pump in the funds generatedthrough it into the modernisation of mills and welfare of workers.

The minister of state for urban development Prabhakar More said that these unions have also demanded the formation of a monitoring committee to supervise the utilisation of funds by millonwers. The committee will comprise representatives of trade unions, millowners, state government.

More said that the committee headed by the leading architect Charles Correa had suggested that the division between the city, Mhada and the millowner should be fixed at one third each, regardless of the size of the land. The use of the land which is retained by the mill owner should not be restricted just to housing but should also include use for setting up new high-tech industrial units which will generate employment in the area. The transfer of development right (TDR) of the land surrendered to the BMC may be made transferable to the one third portion being retained by owner.