The Hindu 07.01.2014
Metropolitan planning panel rules notified
It’s been done nearly 20 years after law was passed
Adhering to the 48-hour deadline, the State government
on Monday submitted to the Karnataka High Court the final notification
of the Bangalore Metropolitan Planning Committee (BMPC) Rules, 2013.
Additional
Advocate-General H. Kantharaja filed a memo in the court indicating
that the BMPC Rules have come into force with effect from January 4,
2014, the date of the final notification.
As the
gazette notification on BMPC Rules was submitted, the court appreciated
the proactive role played by Mr. Kantharaja in ensuring that the
government notified the much-delayed rules to create the BMPC.
As
per the rules, the BMPC, headed by the Chief Minister, will have 18
members from among elected members of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara
Palike and municipalities, presidents and vice-presidents of zilla,
taluk and gram panchayats falling in the metropolitan area. The court
has adjourned the hearing to January 16 to know the progress made by the
government to constitute the committee.
Case background
The
court has been hearing a petition filed by Jayanagar resident C.N.
Kumar challenging the validity of section 14A of the Karnataka Town and
Country Planning (KTCP) Act 1961, which empowers the State to permit use
of land for purposes other than that earmarked in the development plan.
Last
February, the court had restrained the State from granting permission
for change in land use in the metropolitan area while noticing that the
government had failed to constitute an MPC even though 19 years had
lapsed since the passage of the law that mandated constitution of MPC.
On
January 3, 2014, Justice Ram Mohan Reddy set a 48-hour deadline for the
government to notify the final rule while observing that the State had
failed to finalise the same despite being given sufficient time to do
so.
