The Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) has mooted a proposal to regularise nearly 45,000 illegally constructed houses in the city, after finding the option of demolishing them unviable.

The move will not only give legal recognition to such structures, but also a revenue generation to the tune of Rs 50 crore for the civic body. A proposal in this regard has been sent to the state Urban Development Department. If cleared, all the societies, which today stand illegal as they have been built on private agriculture lands without taking a no-objection certificate from the RMC, will get legal status.

In the past, the state government had given its nod to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation on a similar matter involving the east end of the city. Besides going soft on the illegally constructed societies (known as Suchit), the RMC has also been gearing up to stop their mushrooming by increasing vigilance.

“The local body wants to adopt a soft policy on the existing societies, as it’s a matter of a whopping 45,000 houses. Demolition on such a large scale is not a very viable option,” said RMC commissioner Dinesh Brahmbhatt.

Nearly 15 years ago, many of these societies were located in the outskirts. But now, most of them have spread well within city limits. Despite their illegal status, most of them also have basic amenities like water, drainage and electricity connection, thanks to political backing.

Responding to a query, an RMC official said it cannot be called encroachment, as land belonged to private parties.

“But the developers or builders did not bother to convert the title into agriculture land or get the building construction permission from the RMC,” the official added.

These societies proved a cheap and easy housing option for several lakh people, who migrated to Rajkot from various parts of Saurashtra to earn their livelihood.