The Hindu 24.11.2010
Initiate action on building plan violations, LPA told
| Director of Town and Country Planning directs issue of notices |
All ears: Pankaj Kumar Bansal, Director, Town and Country Planning, listening to petitioners at a grievances day meeting in Tiruchi on Tuesday.
TIRUCHI: The Director of Town and Country Planning Pankaj Kumar Bansal has instructed the Assistant Director of Town and Country Planning/Member Secretary of the Local Planning Authority (LPA), Tiruchi, to initiate stern action against owners of commercial buildings in the city who have violated or deviated from the approved building plans.
Mr.Bansal directed the LPA member secretary to issue notices under Sec.56 and 57 of the Town and Country Planning Act to owners of all buildings, where violations were found, within a week and seal the buildings after giving them the mandatory 30-days time to comply with the plan.
The director gave the instructions when it was brought to his notice that many commercial buildings in the city had committed violations such as misusing basements earmarked as parking area, for commercial purposes. “Focus on the major violators first,” he told the official.
Speaking on the sidelines of a public grievances meeting which he chaired here on Tuesday, Mr.Bansal said he had been focussing on expediting issue of approvals and most issues has been sorted and would now turn attention to enforcement. Certain grey areas in development rules have been clarified. The pending list (applications for approval) is notified the directorate's and local LPA websites and e-mail addresses of officers were given for complaints.
Delegation of powers
He also disclosed that the Directorate of Town and Country Planning was examining the feasibility of delegating more powers to the local bodies.
“We have already delegated some powers to local bodies and the LPAs and discussions are on to delegate more powers,” he said pointing out that the local bodies were now empowered to grant plan approvals for residential buildings of up to 4,000 square feet and commercial buildings of up to 2,000 square feet. LPAs have been given powers to issue plan approvals for residential buildings up to 15,000 square feet and commercial buildings up to 12,000 square feet. LPAs were also empowered to issue approvals for layout up to five acres and school buildings and industries irrespective of the area.
Layout approvals
In an attempt to prevent illegal sale of the open space reserve (OSR known as common area) in layouts, the Directorate has now decided to issue layout approvals only after the roads and the OSR were handed over to the local body and the registered gift deed was made available. Criminal cases would be booked under those illegally selling the common area in already approved layouts. Besides, action would be initiated under Sec.56 and 57 of the Town and Country Planning Act, he said.
