Business Line         17.03.2011

Move for floor-wise sanction of building plans in Delhi

Press Trust of India

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Tuesday said it would frame guidelines on allowing floor-wise sanction of building plans in Delhi within two months, after a key panel of the civic body adopted a resolution that it should be permitted with some conditions.

The issue was discussed at a meeting of the MCD Standing Committee, a key decision-making body of the corporation, in which councillors said that not allowing floor-wise sanction was leading to increasing corruption and the solution to the housing problem of the city lies in its vertical development.

At present, ground plus two floors are allowed in most parts of the Capital but the owner of the uppermost floor needs to obtain a no-objection certificate from the owners of other portions if he or she wants to build an extra floor.

The Chairman of the Standing Committee, Mr Yogender Chandolia, said the issue was of public importance and complaints had been coming from many residents in the matter. The panel said thousands of applications were pending for floor-wise sanction and allowing it may bring good revenue for MCD.

The councillors were told that at a meeting with the Lt Governor on January 6, in which various agencies took part, it was decided that no floor-wise sanction should be taken up till the issues of structural safety, distribution of floor area ratio, impact on services such as water, electricity, drainage, effect on open space, lift, parking provisions and compliance of building bylaws as per Master Plan Delhi (MPD)-2021 were adequately addressed.

The Standing Committee resolved and recommended to MCD that “floor-wise sanction of building plan be allowed subject to conditions that the building is certified as structurally sound by the competent authority and there exists adequate civic amenities in the area under the building byelaws with additional FAR (floor area ratio) as per the MPD-2021 without insisting upon signatures of owners of other portion of the property. Where there is any variation in existing construction, the same may be regularised, if permitted, under the rules.”

The Municipal Commissioner, Mr K.S. Mehra, told the meeting that a “lot of complexities” were involved on the issue and the MCD would need time to look into it. After this, he was directed to frame guidelines in the matter within two months. The guidelines will then have to be approved by LG.

The panel noted that issue of structural safety merited serious consideration before any sanction was accorded. It also pointed out that for parking space, there was no provisions up to the plots of 250 sq m, under the MPD-2021. .

“Hence the individual flats on the plot with the area of 250 sq m can be regularised or sanctioned without insisting for parking provisions with enhanced FAR.”

It noted a Delhi High Court judgement of 2001 which said, “Once the property is segregated into different portions and mutated accordingly, there cannot be any requirement of all the co-owners to sign the building plans. If the plot and the building are both co-owned, they only the requirement for such co-owners to sign may at all arise.”

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‘Not allowing floor-wise sanction is leading to corruption. Thousands of applications are pending for floor-wise sanction and allowing it may bring good revenue for MCD.'

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(This article was published in the Business Line print edition dated March 17, 2011)

The Hindu        15.03.2011

BRTS: GVMC seeks advance possession of land

Staff Reporter

The Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation has sought advance possession of Railway land for taking up work on the Bus Rapid Transit System corridor from Pendurthy to Dwarakanagar.

An in principle agreement has been reached between the Railways and the corporation for giving the land on ratio of 1: 1.72, according to Municipal Commissioner V.N.Vishnu.

He said the Railways had been requested to give possession of land in advance pending a formal approval by the Railway Board.

The Chief Engineer and the Executive Engineer concerned had gone to Bhubaneswar to pursue the issue with the East Coast Railway officials.

The land close to Chavulmadum was free and hence could be given for taking up the work, he told reporters on Monday. The work on the two BRTS corridors is scheduled for completion in 2012, when the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission term also comes to an end. Alienating the Navy land of about 3 km is also in the final stages of approval.

On the property tax payments, he said the collection had so far been sluggish with about 30 per cent, Rs.46 crores, of the total of Rs.136 crores realised. A drive would be taken up for the next fortnight to realise at least 70 per cent of the demand with focus on long-pending outstanding amounts. Mr. Vishnu disclosed negotiations were likely with the steel plant to reach a settlement on its property tax and vacant land tax dues on the lines of the one with the port trust. For the past five years, the plant has been paying 50 per cent of the demand pending a court case.