The recently passed “The Punjab Management and Transfer of Municipal Properties Act, 2020” is all set to make management and disposal of Municipal and Improvement Trust properties easier.
The legislation, a brainchild of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, has been designed to ensure inclusive and sustainable delivery of basic civic services in Municipal Towns and Cities of the State.
Passed in the recently-concluded session of the Vidhan Sabha, the Act provides a legal framework for the management and disposal of the Municipal and Trust properties, with provisions to ensure proper identification, survey and recording of municipal properties.
Giving details, an official spokesperson said that the legislation also provides for transfer of commercial municipal properties through auction and residential properties through allotment or draw of lots, bringing in greater transparency into the process.
The new Act, said the spokesperson, also seeks to facilitate the local government in devolving proprietary rights to old occupiers of the municipal properties, by providing a legal framework for devolution of such rights to those who have been in such occupation for 12 years or more at specified rates.
For the economically weaker sections (EWS), having an annual income not more than Rs three lakhs, this rate has been fixed at 12.5 percent of the collector rate. For the lower income groups (LIG), having an annual income of more than Rs three lakhs but not more than Rs eight lakhs, devolution of proprietary rights to the occupiers would be at the rate of 25 percent of the collector rate.
For medium income groups (MIG), having an annual income more than Rs eight lakhs but not more than Rs 15 lakhs, the said rate would be 50 percent of the collector rate, while for high income groups (HIG), having an annual income more than Rs 15 lakhs, devolution of proprietary rights to the occupiers would be at the collector rate.
With the rates defined clearly in the new legislation, there is no scope for ambiguity in devolution of proprietary rights, the spokesperson pointed out, underlining the importance laid by the Captain Amarinder government on ensuring transparency at all levels.