The Hindu 21.06.2013
VMC acts tough on unauthorised constructions
The VMC demolished 35 unauthorised structures
The onlookers were curious to see a brigade from the
municipal corporation demolishing the wood centering erected for
construction of second floor at Bhimanna veedhi in One Town. The
Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) officials explained them that
they had demolished the wooden centering as the owner had no permission
to construct the second floor.
A couple of weeks ago,
the corporation officials demolished wooden centering erected to
construct third floor at a house in Ayodhya Nagar. The officials said
that the owner had neither the approval for the third floor nor TDR
(Transferable Development Rights) bonds.
These are
not isolated cases. The VMC has been “crushing the unauthorised
constructions” with an iron hand. The corporation is flooded with
complaints from people (read neighbours) on deviations or unauthorized
constructions. The vigilance department sources say, “VMC is keen on
curbing unuathorised constructions.”
The officials
are worried that any overlooking of deviations would invite unpleasant
report from the vigilance department. During last five months, the
corporation officials could have demolished not less than 35
unauthorised constructions or prevented the constructions, sources say.
The
VMC officials found that most of the violations were being reported in
areas including Krishnalanka, Ajithsingh Nagar, One Town, and Kothapeta.
In most of the cases, the violations/unauthorised constructions are
taking place in plots that are less than 200 square metres (sq.mtrs).
They found that the individual house owners had deviated from sanctioned
plan in construction of ground floor itself. So, the question of
sanctioning plan first or second floor would not arise, officials say.
At
least one-fourth of the applications received by the town planning wing
pertain to plots less than 200 sq. mtrs. There is a spurt in violations
after the government issued GO 168 in April 2012 relaxing the norms for
plots less than 200 sq. mtrs.
Earlier, the
Government issued GO 450 making it mandatory to mortgage 10 per cent of
built-up area to that authority that sanctions building plans. There was
drastic fall in number of applications in 2011. Following uproar and
representations from various quarters, the government relaxed the norms.
