Illegal layouts cause losses to the government as the developers evade various taxes.
Published Date – 22 February 2024, 03:44 PM
A view of a thermal power plant owned by SCCL in Jaipur mandal
Mancherial: Jaipur mandal has become a hub for illegal layouts of real estate ventures, courtesy its proximity to the district centre, couple of national highways, underground mines, opencast coal mining projects and a thermal power plant of the Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL).
Jaipur mandal centre, Narva, Rasoolpalli, Pegadapalli, Dubbapalli, Gangipelli, Ramaraopet, Indaram, Velala, Gudipelli, Venkatapur and many villages in this industrially mandal saw mushrooming of unapproved layouts of house sites and farm lands, following creation of National Highway 63 from Nizamabad to Jagdalpur of Chhattisgarh, Rajiv Rahadhari between Hyderabad and Indaram of Jaipur mandal, and with the advent of the thermal power plant in Pegadapalli and the proposed 163G Nagpur-Vijayawada green field highway.
Officials of the Panchayat Raj department said they identified 104 layouts, both authorised and illegal, were developed in the district till July 2023. As many as 36 layouts are situated in several parts of Jaipur mandal alone. However, of these, 27 were not approved, indicating the gravity of the menace. Some developers were developing layouts openly flouting norms.
Illegal layouts cause losses to the government as the developers evade various taxes. For instance, realtors should convert agricultural land into non-agriculture ones by paying tax under the Non-agriculture Lands Assessment Act (NALA). They must hand over 10 percent of the land to municipality or gram panchayat for the purpose of parks. Internal roads measure 40 feet and 30 feet width.
The developers need to allocate somewhere between 30 percent and 40 percent of the land for the roads and parks if they get approval of District, Town and Country Planning (DTCP) and clearances from irrigation, revenue and Panchayat Raj departments. Additionally, getting approval takes considerable time even as the government simplified the process by introducing TS-bPASS, the online based system for building permission approval and self-certification system.
DTCP approved layouts ensure that the development is legal, safe, environmentally responsible, and adheres to the town and country planning regulations. They offer a sense of security to buyers, enhance property value, and contribute to planned urban growth. They provide the necessary infrastructure such as roads, water supply, drainage, and sewage systems for occupants. Above all, the buyers face problems in obtaining permission from municipalities to construct houses.
They end up paying 14 percent of market value of the asset in order to get a nod from the local civic body to build a home only if the owner applies for Land Regularisation Scheme (LRS), a facility provided by the government rarely. They should pay betterment fees and some other taxes. They struggle to secure housing loans from banks.
Illegal layouts rock ZP general body meeting
Jaipur ZPTC member Medi Sunitha, while participating in a recent general body meeting of Zilla Parishad council, lamented that officials were not showing interest to curb illegal ventures being sprouted in several parts of this mandal. She alleged that some greedy realtors were encroaching upon government lands and forest due to inaction of the officials.
Collector Badavath Santosh who attended the meeting said a special drive would be launched to clamp down on the unauthorised ventures soon. He assured that an inquiry would be initiated into the layouts. He added that stringent action would be taken against those who develop illegal ventures in the district.
