The Times of India 22.08.2012
15L illegal buildings counted, not seen
AHMEDABAD: There may be 15 lakh illegal buildings in Gujarat, but the state government agencies certainly do not have any idea where these buildings are.
Surprising it may seem but here is the truth. The urban development
department’s claim before the Gujarat high court, that there are 15 lakh
unauthorized structures in the state, has officials at municipal corporations and nagarpalikas scratching their heads as to how exactly did the government arrived at the figure.
Most of civic bodies are yet to conduct a detailed survey of illegal
structures in their jurisdiction areas. The numbers were important for
the effective implementation of the impact fee law.
For instance, the Gandhinagar Urban Development authority
(Guda), which has jurisdiction over Gandhinagar and thereby over the
area housing private bungalows of most of the senior state government
officers, does not have a list of illegal strictures in the capital city
of Gujarat.
What’s more, while the Ahmedabad Municipal
Corporation (AMC) may have claimed that there are five lakh illegal
structures in the city, it can point at only 50,000 such buildings. The
issue came up when the AMC had to issue notices to various property owners.
“We have now started a survey of commercial properties in different
wards of the city. We are looking out for buildings that have made
illegal extensions and rooms and are issuing them notices on the spot,”
says a senior AMC official.
“The list that we had was prepared
by officers who added any illegal structures they came to know of during
routine visits,” he adds.
A Guda official also claimed that
wherever necessary, they have been issuing notices and ensuring that the
illegal construction was removed. “But we do not have a consolidated
list of illegal structures in the city. We are in the process of
identifying such properties,” claimed the official.