(Excl Ventures News) The GHMC has decided to demolish illegal structures of those BPS applicants who have failed to pay the balance penal amount. So far, nearly 50,000 notices have been served on the applicants demanding payment of the balance amount within a week or face demolition squads.
Demolitions will begin from Monday. The orders have been given to all assistant city planners, GHMC chief city planner G V Raghu told STOI.
When the Building Penalisation Scheme was announced in 2008, 2,03,896 applications were received in the Greater Hyderabad limits.
Most of the applicants paid a part of the penal amount at the time of submission of their applications. They were supposed to pay the balance amount at the time of clearance . But since GHMC started regularisation process in July 2009, only 85,949 applicants have made full payment and got their buildings regularised .
As many as 33,688 applications were rejected because the structures were found to have been built either on government land or lake beds or public parks, etc while 84,259 applicants have not come forward to pay the balance amount.
The corporation had conducted melas in all circles in August and September 2009 to initiate on-the-spot regularisation proceedings. Yet, the applicants did not come forward to pay the balance amount. Most of them have paid 10 to 20 per cent of the penal amount. Now, some applicants want to be allowed to pay the balance in instalments, which is not acceptable, a city planner said.
The scheme has so far fetched about Rs 440 crore to the corporation and another Rs 120 crore is expected. At the GHMC general body meeting a week ago, commissioner Sameer Sharma said efforts were being made to collect the balance penal amount by April.
Comment :
Looks legaliy unviable to demolish structures just because there is default in payment of fees. At best GHMC will be able to charge penal interest on due amount. How can they demolish structures which were allowed to be built, in the first place?
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