Civic bodies set to fill in their coffers

Civic bodies set to fill in their coffers
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Civic bodies set to fill in their coffers

Highlights

On the surface, the State government’s recent move to implement the Layout Regularisation Scheme (LRS) appears like a leeway given for those, who bought plots in unauthorised layouts, but the way the new tariff chart was fixed indicates that it certainly is going to be a windfall for the fund-starved civic bodies

Warangal: On the surface, the State government's recent move to implement the Layout Regularisation Scheme (LRS) appears like a leeway given for those, who bought plots in unauthorised layouts, but the way the new tariff chart was fixed indicates that it certainly is going to be a windfall for the fund-starved civic bodies.

The LRS is to rake in a huge moolah for the Kakatiya Urban Development Authority (KUDA) and the nine municipalities in the erstwhile Warangal district. On the other hand, the revised LRS charges to make a hole in the wallet of common man whose economy is already down in the dumps since the outbreak of Covid-19.

The LRS development comes in the wake of the State government's recent rider that bars the registration of properties that don't have layout approval. Compared to the regularisation of unapproved and illegal layout rules, 2015, the government brought in a lopsided hike in the charges in the new notification.

The government, which retained the basic regularisation charges (of 2015), has changed the structure of regularisation charges with reference to the land value. Earlier, there were seven categories based on market value of the land (Sub-Registrar's Office). Now, the categories were truncated to four.

For example, the regularisation charge was 20 per cent for land below Rs 3,000 per square yards and 30 per cent for land between Rs 3,001 per sq yard and Rs 5,000 sq yard. According to the latest GO 131, regularisation charges would be 25 per cent and 50 per cent respectively. It may be mentioned here that the actual regularisation charges will be the percentage of basic regularisation charges and shall be calculated based on the land value prevailing as on August 26, 2020 as given below.

According to KUDA officials, there are 70 unapproved layouts in its command area. However, it's said that there are more than 200 unapproved layouts in the KUDA jurisdiction that is spread across 1,805 square kilometers.

These apart, plots owned by individuals run into thousands. In all, the government is likely to make at least Rs 300 crore, sources said. The nine municipalities – Mahabubabad, Jangaon, Narsampet, Drnakal, Thorrur, Maripeda, Parkal, Bhupalpally and Wardhannapet – are also set to receive considerable revenues.

Speaking to The Hans India, the Forum for Better Warangal President Pulluru Sudhakar said, "The LRS to cost a bomb for the middle classes who are already reeling under the impact of Covid-19 pandemic.

In fact, the LRS has become a money-spinner for the fund-starved civic bodies. Although the government says, the amount collected through the LRS would be kept in a separate escrow account and utilised exclusively for the development of infrastructure in respective local bodies, it's hard to find."

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