Land development method made easey, simple in Madhya Pradesh

By Muslim Saleem

Bhopal, January 7, 2012

The Madhya Pradesh government under the stewardship of Chief Minister Mr Shivraj Singh Chouhan does not seem to lacking in any respect. There is not a single sphere where constant improvement are not being effected in the state. Latest in the series is pleasant changes in land development methods for which the State Government has made necessary changes in the concerning Act, reports SMS News & Features.

The State Government has effected several changes in the new rules and regulations for land use with a view to ensuring systematic, easy and useful urban development in the present-day context. In this connection, useful provisions have also been made for the first time. The Law Department has given formal approval to the Madhya Pradesh Town & Country Planning Amendment Act recently.

A new provision has been added to the Act for systematising the process of construction of colonies, hotels, schools etc. For this purpose, concerning builders will have to move an application to the Director Town & Country Planning with fees and necessary documents. Foundation of a solid system has been laid for land use through this provision. That is why provisions of appeal, amendment and renewal have also been incorporated.

The functioning of the committee constituted for determining land use process by the State Government has also been tightened through the amendment to the Act. Thanks to it, unnecessary delays will be eliminated. As per the amendment provision, convener of the committee will have to maintain records of suggestions and objections apart from convening meetings at the prescribed time and receive recommendations of the members about the notification. A report prepared on the basis of this process will be sent to the Director Town & Country Planning. Another important aspect of the new changes is that committee's report will be prepared on the basis of attendance of majority of the members in place of presence of all the members.

Systematic procedure for fixing land use especially in case of agriculture land has been incorporated in the Act for the first time through amendment. Under it, fixation of levy and fees will be made on change in the land use, which will be not more than 10 percent of the concerning land's market value. Under the amended scheme, categories of those cases will also be fixed in which levy will not be realised. The State Government will have powers to screen the fixed conditions.

Through the amendment, the process of additional increase in floor area ratio (FAR) has also been simplified. This permission will be given against payment of a fixed amount, but notified area will not be less than 5 hectares. In this way, additional increase in FAR will not be more than 50 percent of the approved FAR. However, it will also be mandatory in this procedure to invite suggestions and objections from people, undertake hearing and consider committee's recommendations.

Another liberal amendment to the Act is that the permission for land use given for a specific purpose earlier can be changed. However, it will have to be ensured that the permission granted earlier should not have expired. Application for change in land use will be accepted only six months after the expiry of the permission granted earlier. Earlier, applications for change in land use were received only after three years.

The decks have also been cleared for easy permission for adding or separating a plot of land. But permission for adding or separating plots will not be granted in such plots which are of EWS or LIG category. Only adjoining plots of less than 500 square meters can be added to the plot.

Any proposed layout plan will not be notified till it is approved by the Director Town & Country Planning. Similarly, final publication of the draft will be notified within one year of the first publication of the draft. Otherwise, the draft of the project will be deemed cancelled.

Under the amendment, the committee constituted to consider land use cases is being re-activated and made useful in the large public interests. Now, officers of Urban Development Authorities, Director Town & Country Planning and officers of urban bodies and Zila Parishads will also be included in the committee. Earlier, there was no provision to reconstitute the committee.

Similarly, exemption in fees and stamp duty has also been given in the agreements to be signed between the Authority and landowner.