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Illegal structures demolished

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The Times of India                02.03.2013

Illegal structures demolished

KANPUR: As many as 119 temporary and permanent illegal structures were demolished at Shyamnagar bypass on Friday.

The anti-encroachment squad of Kanpur Municipal Corporation reached ward number 53 and demolished illegal structures upto Shyamnagar bypass. The squad bull-dozed 70 boundary walls,16 tin sheds, 19 tattar shed shops, 11 shanty shops and three huts. A strong contingent of PAC and police accompanied the squad.
Last Updated on Saturday, 02 March 2013 10:11
 

Illegal structure owners to be hit hard

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The Times of India                   27.02.2013

Illegal structure owners to be hit hard

HYDERABAD: The owners of unauthorised structures/floors will soon have to cough up more property tax. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) has decided to collect 100% more on normal property tax as penalty on new illegal constructions as against the existing 25% being levied by the civic body.

The GHMC is likely to implement the new penalty rule from April 1, 2013. Incidentally, owners of over three lakh properties of the 12 lakh assessed by the corporation might have to pay the additional property tax. "If normal tax is Rs 1,000, the owner of unauthorised construction will have to pay Rs 2,000 towards property tax. The new tax rule will be applicable to all types of buildings like individual houses, flats, encroachments on government land and assigned land," GHMC sources said. With the new rule, the corporation is expected to get Rs 30 crore additional revenue.

"We are taking all efforts to get section 220B of the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation Act amended, where there is a clause on imposing 25% penalty till such illegal structures either demolished or regularised. The amendment to the Act to collect 100% more tax will be made soon," GHMC commissioner MT Krishna Babu told TOI on Tuesday.

The officials said the idea behind the proposal of enhancing penalty on illegal constructions was to deter property owners from raising unauthorised structures. Originally, the provision for collection of 100% additional tax on illegal constructions was incorporated in the New Building Rules (GO 86) issued in 2006. However, the GHMC has been collecting only 25% more tax on illegal buildings as per the Act.

"Since, there is contradiction between the Building Rules GO and GHMC Act, it can be challenged in the courts. Now, the municipal administration and urban development (MA&UD) department has decided to amend the Act," a GHMC official said.

Apart from imposing tax on the unauthorised constructions, the chief minister reportedly cleared the proposal to levy property tax on squatters of encroached government land or municipal land or any category of land, which will also attract 100% additional tax. Until now, illegal constructions on government land were not assessed as there was ambiguity in the GHMC Act on assessment of the encroached land. The corporation officials argued that squatters were enjoying civic amenities and other facilities like other tax payers and the civic body was losing revenue.

The GHMC officials said the chief minister would hold a meeting with departments like GHMC, Central Power Distribution Company Limited, Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) and Stamps and Registrations department on measures to be taken to prevent illegal constructions. Though the Occupancy Certificate (OC) was made mandatory for providing water and electricity connections in the New Building Rules, only HMWS&SB was strictly adhering to the rule and CPDCL officials were not insisting on OC.

Officials said steps would be taken by the state government to make OC mandatory in various acts, including the one governing CPDCL.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 27 February 2013 11:43
 

Top floor of commercial complex demolished

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The Hindu                           26.02.2013

Top floor of commercial complex demolished

Special Correspondent

GHMC officials with the assistance of the local police demolished an illegally constructed sixth floor of a commercial complex on Road No.1, belonging to Ranbir Singh Bagga.

The GHMC central zone officials took up the task after a legal battle. The building owner had originally applied and obtained permission for construction of cellar, ground plus four upper floors but he had deviated from the sanctioned plan during the course of construction to build a sub-cellar, cellar, ground, service floor plus five upper floors, a press release said. The owner had also obtained an injunction order from a local court on receiving statutory notices from the civic body in 2008. The owner meanwhile had applied for regularisation of the structure after the Building Penalisation Scheme had come into existence. But, the GHMC head office on inspecting the site has refused to regularise the building pointing out that a swimming pool under construction on the fifth floor and the sixth floor too was not shown in the plans submitted. The municipal officials also stated that the top two floors were constructed clandestinely after the cut off date, hence “regularising the building does not arise”.

 

Last Updated on Tuesday, 26 February 2013 07:07
 


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