The new Municipal bill- 2019, has a clause for the actions that will be taken against anyone involved in the illegal construction. Anyone raising unauthorised buildings is entitled to the imprisonment of three years or a penalty of 25% of the total value of the land/building fixed by the registration department. This is to curb the increasing illegal construction in Telangana.
This move was happily welcomed by the opposition parties since it came when authorities are struggling to cope with the rising illegal constructions across the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) area. As per the latest GHMC reports, out of the 22 lakh buildings in Hyderabad, at least 50% has some building plan deviation and 10% are illegal structures altogether.
The new bill also proposes to stop the construction in the parking areas marked on the plan, based on which the approval is given. The proposed Act empowers the municipal authorities to levy 25% of the land value as a penalty if the parking space shown is used for any construction.
The bill also aims at curbing corruption in the town planning department and allows prospective building owners to apply online for building permission through self-certification. Stringent action, including imprisonment and hefty fines, would be levied if anyone provides wrong information.
To encourage the citizens to report illegal constructions to the district collector and municipal authorities, the bill also has a provision that the informant’s identity would be kept confidential and the informant would also get a reward. However, the details of the incentives are not mentioned in the bill.