The Hindu              04.10.2013

Private schools asked to avail of regularisation scheme

The Directorate of Matriculation Schools has urged
private schools across the State to avail of the property tax exemption
and regularisation concessions offered by the State government for
school buildings constructed prior to July 1, 2007.

Sources in the Directorate of Matriculation Schools told
The Hindu
that many schools in Tamil Nadu had been functioning without approval
for their buildings from the local bodies. Now, the Department of School
Education had made plan approval mandatory for schools in order to
obtain or renew recognition of their institutions. Section 18 of the
Right To Education Act prohibits schools from functioning without
recognition.

Tamil Nadu Private Schools Association
president R. Visalakshi, however, said that the cut-off year fixed as
2007 was unfair and the exemptions must be granted to school buildings
constructed before June 2013.

“This exemption was
being provided only to schools that had obtained approval from local
bodies, which most of the schools had done by June 2013,” she said.

She
said that as the schools had already paid infrastructure and amenities
charges to local bodies while getting approval, they should be
completely exempted from paying the Local Planning Authority fees. At
present, the schools were given 50 per cent exemption.

Coimbatore
had 82 matriculation high schools and 185 higher secondary schools with
a total of 2.27 students (1.18 lakh boys and 1.09 lakh girls), an
official said.

The exemptions will be accorded only
if the buildings conformed to the Government Orders 234 and 235, which
were issued last year and G.O. 43 issued in February this year.

The
G. Os specify that the floor space index violations should not exceed
50 per cent of the maximum limit. Further, the applications for
regularisation would be rejected if the extent of violations in respect
of minimum required road width exceeds 20 per cent. The violations in
minimum setback spaces in front, rear and side of the building should
not exceed 50 per cent of the mandated norms.

The
State government, in November 2012, issued guidelines under Section
113-C (a new clause brought in after an amendment) of the Tamil Nadu
Town and Country Planning Act, 1971 for the exemption of unauthorised
buildings from regulations.