To provide hassle-free building permissions and curb corruption in civic bodies, the municipal administration and urban development (MA&UD) department has proposed self-certification for granting residential building permission for plots up to 200 square metres (240 square yards).
At the same time, if any builder or property owner constructs a structure without taking permission, he or she would be jailed for three years or fined 10% of building value. “Under Section 250 of the proposed Municipal Act, if any property owner is found raising illegal structures, or against the master plan permission, he or she will be prosecuted and jailed, which may be extended for three years,” said a senior official of MA & UD.
These provisions have been incorporated in the proposed Municipal Act. According to sources, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) was also keen on implementing self-certification for building permission in approved layouts. “Once property owners upload all relevant documents and pay the required building fee online, they get approval. No occupancy certificate is required for a plot up to 200 sq metres,” the official said.
However, owners have to give a declaration they would be held responsible and accountable and that action could be initiated against them. The proposal has been drafted based on the success of Telangana State Industrial Project Approval Self Certification System (TSiPASS) and also to curb corruption in the town planning wings across the state. The government also plans to set seven-day deadline for scrutiny of documents and overcome shortfall, if any, for granting permissions. If municipal authorities do not respond within seven days, the permission would be considered deemed to be given.
The municipal authorities have been empowered to seal unauthorised construction or development and, if anyone tries to remove the seal, the person would be punished, the proposed Act said.
Official sources said the provisions like self-certification for up to 200 sq metre plots, would be incorporated in the Municipal Corporations Act and GHMC Act. GHMC commissioner Dana Kishore has recently announced that there would be single application for all line departments like GHMC, fire services and Airports Authority of India (AAI) for high-rise building permission.
