In what should come as good news for film producers and art directors, the state of Maharashtra has exempted temporary film sets from development permissions. Producers will henceforth need no permission to construct such sets. What’s more, a temporary set can continue to stand erected for a year after being complete.
Up till now, the erection of a set in a public place in the state (such as on an open ground or the street) would require the producer to take permission of the police, the BMC and the RTO authorities. For constructing a set close to the sea, additional permission of the marine authorities was necessary. Similarly, a no-objection certificate from the customs or airport authorities would be essential if shooting was to be done on a set to be erected in areas falling under their jurisdiction.
In a step against red tape in granting approvals as part of Ease of Doing Business reforms, the state government notified new uniform development control regulations on 4th December for building row houses and small bungalows in the urban belts of Maharashtra. The rule about exempting temporary sets came as part of those regulations.