TNHB Government Scheme a chance to regularise unauthorized Layouts

Regularization of unapproved sites by the Tamil Nadu Government has come as a respite for those whose properties can now be legalized by getting regulated under this scheme.

What is the land regularization scheme?

Breaking up the word into regularization and land regularization scheme (LRS) will make the meaning clear.

Regularization means to make anything fit or good which was unfit earlier. In this context, it means changing the land usage of an area because areas that are illegally occupied fall under the meaning of regularization once their land usage is changed and become legal to be inhabited.

Land Regularization Scheme means any construction within the municipal limits which was unauthorized can now become regularized in conformity with the scheme.

TNHB: TTN Govt Scheme

Housing and Urban Development Department of Tamil Nadu Government had made a move towards regularization of unapproved layouts across the state through a notification which was released in May 2017 under Tamil Nadu Regularization, and unapproved Layout and Plot Rules 2017. This was done because a ban on registration of unapproved plots in the state was imposed by Madras High Court in September 2016. This ban was however lifted and provided an extension of 18 months to individual owners and layout promoters of unauthorized plots to apply for regulation.

This was done with twin objectives:

• To prevent the conversion of agricultural land into non –agricultural land.
• To restore the ecological balance and prevent floods.

Unapproved layouts have been divided into 3 categories:

• Layouts which come under Municipal Corporation Area
• Layouts which come under Municipal Area
• Layouts falling under town Panchayats and village Panchayats

There are certain charges which have been segregated as per the categories mentioned for getting the plots regularized. It depends on the area in which the plot is.

City Municipal Corporation:

• Nov 4,2018-May3,2019: Rs 110
• May 4,2019-Nov3,2019: Rs 125
• Nov4,2019: Rs150

Municipal Area:

• Nov 4,2018-May3,2019: Rs 66
• May 4,2019-Nov3,2019: Rs 75
• Nov4,2019: Rs90

Town and Village Panchayats:

• Nov 4,2018-May3,2019: Rs 33
• May 4,2019-Nov3,2019: Rs 37.50
• Nov4,2019: Rs45

These charges are related to per square metre of the area of the plot

Government Ruling states that in the case of unsold plots in a particular layout, the promoter shall be held as plot holder and thus the responsibility of getting the same regularized falls on his shoulders.

Unapproved properties will fall either under the purview of Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority or Directorate of Town and Country Planning.

The initial response to the scheme was not great owing to lack of awareness. When the government notified that heavy penalty shall be imposed, the number of cases getting registered under the scheme increased considerably. Though the estimates of the government regarding unapproved plots are around 16 lakh as of date, 5.5 lakh cases have been registered.  Out of these, 5 lakh cases are under DTCP areas and others in CDMA areas.

 TN Govt Scheme Eligibility Criteria

If one part of the sold and unsold plots have been registered through a sales deed on or before 20th October 2016, then these are eligible for regularization under the scheme.

Individual owners and plot developers need to furnish a copy of a valid sales deed as proof of sold plots.

Penalty for Unauthorized Layouts Under TN Govt Scheme

The government has called for strict action against the people owing unauthorized land and not getting it regularized under the aforesaid scheme.

• Loss of power connection, water supply and drainage and sewerage facilities is the first step in this direction.
• Approval for building in case of unapproved plot will not be given.
• Open Space Reservation Charges were levied depending on the location of the plot. It is calculated on the guideline value (2007 rates) of virtual OSR which should have been allocated by the layout owner. Since this penalty was huge so the response to get the plots regularized was reduced. Due to this, the government later decided to waive off the major penalty.

What is the procedure to get the plots authorized under the scheme?

To file for an application to get the plot regularized, the following steps need to be followed:

1. The applicant must fill an online application in Form-1 by logging on to http://www.tnlayoutreg.in/. This will enable the registration process of the applicant.
2. Once the registration is done, the applicant needs to select the category which can be “regularization of plot in a layout” or “regularization of plot in a sub-division” or regularization of a layout.” Post this, the application form has to be filled and payment needs to be made.
3. The applicant has to pay Scrutiny fees of Rs 500 per unsold plot by choosing the convenient mode of payment.
4. Once the confirmation of payment is received, the applicant has to collect registration slip which has to be submitted along with the other documents like sales deed, etc to the concerned authority.

Though this scheme had faced initial reluctance on the part of landowners owing to the lack of knowledge, over a period of time the number of cases has increased considerably. This has happened because of the excessive campaigns which have been launched at the district level.

Since its implementation, the deadline has been revised thrice, and there are chances that it still might get revised in the near future to enable the regularization of the plots.

There are certain measures which can be taken to expedite the process:

• This process must be made simple, and the whole procedure must be expedited with information reaching the general public so that they can understand the gravity of the situation.
• It has further been suggested that marketing campaigns on social media can be run which can reach out to a large section of people and targets can thus be achieved easily.

Irrespective of the land use zone in development plans concerned, regularization shall thus enable the plots to be regularized for residential use.