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.
