Urban News

Indian Express 31.08.2009

Drive initiated to identify heritage structures in city

The Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) has initiated a drive to identify the old heritage monuments in the city so that extra care is taken for their preservation and people visiting the city get to know more about their history.

Several old heritage buildings housing government offices are in a deplorable state.

Surat is a historic city. Before the arrival of the British, the Dutch and the Portuguese had established their business here. The East India Company had set up its office in Surat in 1612.

Many heritage buildings in Surat date back to the Colonial and the Mughal era, but they are in a bad condition due to lack of proper care.

The Surat Municipal Corporation main office is run in a Mughal Sarai building — built by Mughal Emperor Shahjahan for the Haj pilgrims. A year ago, a wall and a passage had collapsed in this building.

The Surat Fort, which was built by Mohammed Tughluq on the banks of the Tapi, houses many government offices. The Dutch House, the Portuguese and the Dutch cemeteries, as also the English Factory, are in a bad condition. Worse still, the historic Gopi talao in Surat is used as a public toilet by people from the neighbouring areas.

Recently, the Municipal Corporation undertook a project to identify the heritage structures in the city. Over 2,800 heritage buildings have been identified till date and work is on the verge of completion. A book on these heritage buildings along with photographs and their history will also be published

B S Gohil, Executive Engineer, Public Works Department, Surat, said: “At present, many historic buildings are occupied by government offices. We carry out repair work whenever required, but it is difficult to take care of these buildings properly, due to the presence of government offices.”

He added: “The offices should be shifted to other places and special care should be taken for the preservation of these heritage buildings.”

Municipal Commissioner S Aparna said: “Our main office functions from the Mughal Sarai building, but we do take care of the premises regularly and undertake repair work whenever required. We have sealed off several portions of the buildings and prevented entry and exit at those points, due to safety reasons.”

Indian Express 31.08.2009

In October, GMADA to resume plots lying vacant for over eight years

The Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) will begin resumption proceedings against vacant plots in October, if the allottees whose plots have been lying vacant for over 8 years since their allotment in Mohali fail to avail of the last chance given to them to build their plots.

Under the last chance, the allottees are required to submit their building plans for approval latest by September 30, before constructing their plots till December 31, failing which resumption proceedings under the provisions of the Punjab Regional and Town Planning and Development Act, 1995, would be initiated to resume the vacant plots, said the GMADA Estate Officer.

The development assumes significance as the owners (who were allotted plots over 8 years ago) were given time till June 30 to get their building plans approved. Keeping in view the demand of hundreds of such allottees, who failed to avail of the earlier benefit, the state government has decided to extend the time limit of submitting the building plans till September 30

GMADA authorities said this would be the “final opportunity” and if the allottees failed to complete the “minimum required construction of a single dwelling unit” till December 31, their vacant plots would be resumed without serving any further notice.

In June, the state government had extended the deadline for constructing the plots till December 31. Earlier, a one-year extension had been granted thrice for constructing vacant plots, which were allotted in or before 1998.

The construction time limit of the plots allotted in or before 1998 had expired in December 2006, when it was extended for a year till December 2007 and again another one-year extension was accorded twice on the persistent demand of vacant plot owners across the state.

The last extension had expired on December 31, 2008, following which the vacant plot owners were up in arms after receiving resumption notices, which now stand withheld.

According to the allotment policy in Punjab, the allottees are required to build their plots within 8 years of the allotment.

Since a large number of plots saw little or no construction, even after expiry of their construction period, the state government had for the first time given a one-year extension in 2006.

After the expiry of their maximum construction period in January 2007, lakhs of vacant plot owners across the state were issued resumption notices by the Punjab Urban Development and Planning Authority (PUDA) in most parts of Punjab. In Mohali, the resumption notices were issued by GMADA.

Following the receipt of resumption notices, the vacant plot owners were a worried lot and most of them had either sold off their plots in much lesser consideration than the prevailing market price or were contemplating the same for fear of resumption. .