The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has now launched a ‘single window clearance’ system for heritage conservation and restoration permissions for owners of listed heritage homes and institutions. The standing committee approved the policy.
According to the new policy, owners of heritage properties in the walled city will not have to apply separately for heritage elements assessment, road line deductions and to the ASI for NOCs to apply for transfer of development rights (TDR) certificates. TDR can be sold to developers so that the funds can be used by heritage home owners for repair and conservation.
The committee was also informed that 13 listed heritage buildings have been demolished while 230 heritage homes are yet to tagged with special heritage plates. AMC standing committee chairman Hitesh Barot said detailed documentation of timber heritage buildings is being prepared and will be provided to the individual home owners free of cost.
With this new arrangement, there will be greater co-ordination between the town development officer (TDO) and the heritage department of the AMC while processing files for TDR purposes. Earlier, the applicant had to submit three different affidavits to three different departments for permissions. Now this will not be the case. An applicant who wants to restore his or her property has to apply to the AMC on a Rs 300 stamp paper. The rest will be handled by the AMC.