The state government is likely to extend the deadline of applying for regularisation of illegal construction applications by payment of impact fee. The last date for filing applications is February 17. With less than 10,000 applications received from across the state, sources shared that the government is mulling a deadline extension. Making matters even more dismal is the fact that against the received applications, only two have been cleared till now.
In Ahmedabad city alone, including AMC and AUDA areas, more than two lakh applications were expected. AMC received 5,065 applications till date and only two have been approved. Interestingly, 213 people applied in the AUDA areas but not a single one has been approved.
The state government had in October announced the impact fee scheme according to which illegal constructions made before October 1, 2022, would be regularised by charging fees. The notification was issued on October 17 last year and the deadline for filing the application was February 17. The Assembly passed a Bill to this effect in December. As per its provisions, an applicant will have to pay a fee within two months of filing the application.
A senior official of the state urban development department said the response to the scheme is poor and time is needed for clearing the applications. The applications which AMC and AUDA have got are both from residential and commercial categories. Explaining the delay in clearing the applications, a senior AMC official said that initially there was delay in guidelines from the government.
Then the staff was busy with election duty. Besides, the staff will have to visit the spot to take measurements and then calculate the impact fee. The effort would require deployment of huge force and time beyond the February 17 deadline.
The state government has fixed rates for illegal construction ranging from Rs 3,000 to Rs 18,000 per square metre. For violation of parking rules, the fine would be 15% of jantri rates for residential and 30% for commercial.
Added, Surat too has reported a poor response to the scheme. According to a Surat Municipal Corporation official: “There are many provisions for fire safety, parking and other regulations and the scheme lacks clarity. That could be a reason why few people are coming forward.”
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