The State government’s regularisation scheme for unapproved layouts and plots and the abolition of norms for open space reservation (OSR) has been operational for the last seven months, but it has evoked only a subdued response among people.

As of now, applications have been received for hardly 10% of the total number of unapproved layouts – 41,387 – in the State. This pertains to areas falling under the jurisdiction of the Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP). In respect of those coming under the control of the Chennai Metropolitan Development Area (CMDA) also known as Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA), a senior government official says no estimates are available with regard to unapproved layouts. As many as 124 applications have been submitted for full layouts.

The government has extended the validity of the scheme till May 3, 2018. As per the government’s decisions taken in October, even a single plot sold in an unapproved layout can be regularised. The regularisation will be done on the basis of “as is where is” condition. The scheme is applicable to unapproved layouts or sub-divisions in CMA formed between August 5, 1975 and October 20, 2016; in rural areas outside the CMA between November 29, 1972 and October 20, 2016 and in urban areas outside the CMA between January 1, 1986 and October 20, 2016.

Commenting on the public response, the official says that since the reduction of general charges for regularisation which came into force exactly two months ago (October 13), there has been a “marked improvement.” As for the DTCP areas, about 17,000 applications were received by the authorities in the last two months for all three sub-categories (“full layouts,” “plots in layouts” and “plots in subdivisions”) and with regard to the CMA, about 2,440 applications.

‘Insufficient publicity’

G. Shyam Sundar, advocate specialising in matters concerning real estate and senior executive of a firm engaged in providing home loans, feels that the government should have publicised the scheme more aggressively. He adds that even though there is a provision for online submission of applications, the absence of “people-friendly atmosphere” at field offices of the planning bodies is another impediment.

S. Ramaprabhu, secretary, southern centre of the Builders’ Association of India, says that certain aspects of the process of submission of applications are cumbersome. For example, applicants are asked to get encumbrance certificates for plots other than those in unapproved layouts concerned. An observer of the real estate industry says that “economic downturn” is also another factor.

The government official sees no need for carrying out an intensive publicity drive on the scheme as the government had informed “adequately,” through the media, about its decisions in the last seven months.

As for the insistence on applicants submitting framework sketches of their plots, the official says that even though this involves sharing some of the government’s work, the move has been intended to be a “measure of simplification of procedures.” Mr. Shyam Sundar says one key factor behind the practice of people buying unapproved plots is “lack of proper information” in the public domain about approved layouts. The website of the DTCP of the Andhra Pradesh government contains information on layouts, sanctioned since the 1920s.

Tamil Nadu too would follow suit soon, the official adds.