In a move that would benefit lakhs of house owners, besides curbing the menace of illegal construction, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NMC) has asked the Centre to provide relaxation in building bylaws in order to facilitate seamless sanctioning of building plans. If the corporation has its way, Delhiites will be able to get sanction for construction on sub-divided or clubbed residential plots, which are currently prohibited.
Further, the civic body has sought easy regularisation of already constructed (unauthorisedly) extended area (chajjas) on payment of fixed fees and subject to structural safety. This will benefit scores of DDA flat occupants who have covered up the extended area/balconies without sanctioned building plans.
The demands were put forth by North Delhi Mayor Yogendra Chandolia and Standing Committee Chairman Mohan Bhardwaj to Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu in a
meeting on Friday. The NMC leaders told Naidu that the existing laws should be simplified so that people face no procedural delays and harassment by the officials concerned in getting the building plans sanctioned. “The building plans should be simplified so much so that the present residential constructions, subject to structural safety, may be regularised. The plans for the sub-divided or clubbed plots may also be sanctioned,” the leaders said in the letter written to Naidu.
The corporation leaders said a major portion of the national Capital does not have building plans sanctioned which, according to them, is the main reason of rampant unauthorised constructions. They also demanded powers to regularise the unauthorised colonies which currently lies with the Delhi Government. “The powers to regularise unauthorised colonies and the constructions therein may be transferred to the municipal corporations, subject to safety certificates. The development charges of these colonies may also be subsidised to 50 per cent,” the letter read. The UD Minister was also urged upon to allow residential construction in lal Dora of urban and rural villages without sanctioning building plans but subject to structural safety.
Further, in a bid to contain multiplicity of authorities in Delhi, the civic body has sought the transfer of crucial services like water supply and sewage, maintenance of slums, horticulture, heritage conservation, maintenance of roads and bridges and pollution control back to it.